Bottle-feeding Mary!  What nonsense!  While I truly admire all the Biblical
scholars, I think the common error with many nativities is in the size of
the manger.  As a child, I knew my horse's manger to be big enough for Mary,
Jesus, and maybe a real cuddly Joseph.  One of our big dogs actually birthed
her puppies there.  The tiny little contraptions shown in most creches are
ventilated, so couldn't hold grain.  If they held hay, it wouldn't be enough
to feed a skinny goat.  In other words, what we usually see spotlighted on
our neighbor's lawn cannot be a manger!  I would vote for hay as the
cleanest stuff in a stable.  That would make the manger sensible.
 Fix the visual with a halo around Mama, Jesus, and earthly Papa, warm and
comfy together in a nest of sweet-smelling hay, while the animals adored and
nibbled at the edges.  A FAMILY manger.
Pam Easterday LLLL [log in to unmask]


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