Manger Scenes

How many of you are taking advantage of one of the rare annual opportunities we Christians have to publicly promote Christ during this CHRISTmas season with minimal resistance: at the cashier counter, singing (whistling, humming, etc) in the store, greeting people anywhere, and so on? One great place may be the front of your house and yard. Just a simple "Merry CHRISTmas" banner is great instead of that very lame and blasphemous, politically correct "Happy Holiday." But I think what really helps is the pictorial manger scene. We can be an instrument to educate (reeducate) those out there what CHRISTmas is REALLY about. What do you think? Have you got anything outside in your CHRISTmas display which helps to reconnect this holiday with Christ for onlookers?
 
How many of you are taking advantage of one of the rare annual opportunities we Christians have to publicly promote Christ during this CHRISTmas season with minimal resistance: at the cashier counter, singing (whistling, humming, etc) in the store, greeting people anywhere, and so on? One great place may be the front of your house and yard. Just a simple "Merry CHRISTmas" banner is great instead of that very lame and blasphemous, politically correct "Happy Holiday." But I think what really helps is the pictorial manger scene. We can be an instrument to educate (reeducate) those out there what CHRISTmas is REALLY about. What do you think? Have you got anything outside in your CHRISTmas display which helps to reconnect this holiday with Christ for onlookers?

Unfortunately my wife and I don't because of vandalism, but Nativity scenes are one of the greatest forms of Christmas decorating as it is so iconic and beautiful -- God's gift of Himself as the Son to us. We keep a small Nativity set in our home beside an Advent wreath celebrating the anticipation of Christ's coming.

And not to get into it with Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays, but I also love to wish people a Merry Christmas -- not as a means to shove it in the face of political correctness, but to express my celebration for Christ's birth. However, most people wish me a Happy Chanukah since, if they don't know me well enough, they assume I'm of the Jewish faith. Nonetheless, I appreciate it.
 
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Unfortunately my wife and I don't because of vandalism, but Nativity scenes are one of the greatest forms of Christmas decorating as it is so iconic and beautiful -- God's gift of Himself as the Son to us. We keep a small Nativity set in our home beside an Advent wreath celebrating the anticipation of Christ's coming.

And not to get into it with Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays, but I also love to wish people a Merry Christmas -- not as a means to shove it in the face of political correctness, but to express my celebration for Christ's birth. However, most people wish me a Happy Chanukah since, if they don't know me well enough, they assume I'm of the Jewish faith. Nonetheless, I appreciate it.
Thank you for your input. My baby Jesus was stolen by a group of teen boys once. Our police dept. somehow were able to find the group and make them personally return it and apologize. Praise God! I am so sorry for your loss. Manger scenes are not cheap or easy to find any more. And if you had an older one it is probably irreplaceable/invaluable. Menards does the best at having one available in pieces so you can build it piece-meal. I found most of mine at a yard sale and have added to it from Menards as they are relatively the same scale.
 
Thank you for your input. My baby Jesus was stolen by a group of teen boys once. Our police dept. somehow were able to find the group and make them personally return it and apologize. Praise God! I am so sorry for your loss. Manger scenes are not cheap or easy to find any more. And if you had an older one it is probably irreplaceable/invaluable. Menards does the best at having one available in pieces so you can build it piece-meal. I found most of mine at a yard sale and have added to it from Menards as they are relatively the same scale.

I've never had pieces of a manger scene stolen from me, but I don't live in the nicest of areas (though it's better than my last place). We usually don't put anything outside, but the other reason is because we don't have any sort of yard. We live in a metropolitan city.
 
How many of you are taking advantage of one of the rare annual opportunities we Christians have to publicly promote Christ during this CHRISTmas season with minimal resistance: at the cashier counter, singing (whistling, humming, etc) in the store, greeting people anywhere, and so on? One great place may be the front of your house and yard. Just a simple "Merry CHRISTmas" banner is great instead of that very lame and blasphemous, politically correct "Happy Holiday." But I think what really helps is the pictorial manger scene. We can be an instrument to educate (reeducate) those out there what CHRISTmas is REALLY about. What do you think? Have you got anything outside in your CHRISTmas display which helps to reconnect this holiday with Christ for onlookers?
My 3 year old daughter is making it easy. The other day she started singing "Joy to the world" in a shop. And pretty loud. Instead of asking her to keep quite, I just joined with her. My wife was about to scream at us for behaving like that :) Once she knew the details, she smiled.
 
My wife and I would love to have stuff outside in a front yard for Christmas, but we live in an apartment complex and our apartment is a back apartment where no one goes but us to walk the dog. Plus, we do not have a porch. It's just walls which we are not allowed to decorate.

Some day when we get a house.
 
Does anyone have a favorite Christmas ornament?

My grandparents on my mom's side had this one metal mesh like ball that had a bird chirping sound. I remember as a child always wanting that one on the tree and would sit and listen to it for a long while.

These days almost anything that has let it snow on it. That is my favorite Christmas song.
 
My 3 year old daughter is making it easy. The other day she started singing "Joy to the world" in a shop. And pretty loud. Instead of asking her to keep quite, I just joined with her. My wife was about to scream at us for behaving like that :) Once she knew the details, she smiled.
Good for you Daddy. We should never be ashamed of our heritage from the Lord nor of our singing ability, however it is. "Make a JOYFUL NOISE unto the Lord!" (Psalms somewhere) I bet she some day is the one to help organize a "See You at the Flag Pole" event at her school.
 
My wife and I would love to have stuff outside in a front yard for Christmas, but we live in an apartment complex and our apartment is a back apartment where no one goes but us to walk the dog. Plus, we do not have a porch. It's just walls which we are not allowed to decorate.

Some day when we get a house.
Well, have you thought of using your car? One Christmas I had green and red lights hung around my rear window (you must have an exterior mirror on passenger side for this as i did, i believe for safety, and the lights can't be too bright) and plugged them into a cheap power inverter. It worked great! Then you could place whatever you wanted on the glass to communicate a message. It IS easier to do this with old vehicles as mine as you might have to "hurt" something in the car to accomplish the hanging part. Then there is any personal work space at work which can be experimented with. Merry CHRISTmas!!!
 
Well, have you thought of using your car? One Christmas I had green and red lights hung around my rear window (you must have an exterior mirror on passenger side for this as i did, i believe for safety, and the lights can't be too bright) and plugged them into a cheap power inverter. It worked great! Then you could place whatever you wanted on the glass to communicate a message. It IS easier to do this with old vehicles as mine as you might have to "hurt" something in the car to accomplish the hanging part. Then there is any personal work space at work which can be experimented with. Merry CHRISTmas!!!

Our Windows are tinted pretty dark, plus our car is from 2011, so it is not too old.

Neither of us are employed as my wife is disabled and I am her full-time caregiver.
 
We have a fairly small home altar with the standards; a crucifix, two candles, a bible, a rosary, and a statue of Mary and Joseph which is kept year round. However, the nativity ought to be there as this is such an important time to focus on this important moment.
 
We have a fairly small home altar with the standards; a crucifix, two candles, a bible, a rosary, and a statue of Mary and Joseph which is kept year round. However, the nativity ought to be there as this is such an important time to focus on this important moment.

We will definitely have a nativity up inside our home, we just do not entertain many guests.
 
Does anyone have a favorite Christmas ornament?
No, I don't. But i do enjoy the tree. My father (batteringly abusive, 3 college degree "intellectual" atheist, alcoholic) was given custody of us children after our mother (Christian) died (in a day when "family affairs"/child/wife protection were none of the govts or school's business) and he hated Christmas so there are no childhood memories of ornaments or trees. My family has always had one and we do have had our enjoyable traditions and ceremonies surrounding the tree but I have always been one on the inside to not to put much emphasis on such things as from a very young age I was taught very clearly that what was seen regardless of how honorable or beautiful in appearance could very well just be an evil deception and only a thin, disappearing veneer. So my perception of things is a bit different; esp since I have experienced so frequently in my adult life the same thing. What does God say about how continually deceitful and evil (above all things) man's heart is? They are nice to look at but for a spiritual connection to God I avoid any extraneous instruments as they can be only a mirage and so I look within where He already is, now. My wife had her favorite ornaments made by our children, bless her soul. Some make references to the evergreen Christmas tree as a symbol of the tree-cross of Jesus' torturous death but with all of the glitter and gloss and colors and liveliness and joy of our Christmas tree it is beyond me. The tree of Golgotha's torturous infliction of death to my Lord, Savior, Friend, Sustainer, and Strength by holding the nails rigidly and painfully against His struggles dislocating both shoulders and raking His flayed and battered back every time He pushed against the nail through His feet to breathe is something I cannot relate to a Christmas tree used to celebrate His coming to live with us in the flesh for which a greater, yet ugly and horrible, moment awaited. That tree, in my opinion, should appropriately be recalled on "Good" Friday. I honestly cannot think of any favorite ornament. It was always my job to dig the tree in several large boxes out from obscure and burried location and get it to the living room and then set it up and then get all the lights working and strung. By the time that was all done I was ready to just sit with hot chocolate and watch the rest of the family finish the job while wonderful CHRISTmas music played in the background.
 
We also have a nice little Nativity set for inside the house. The children loved to rearrange the pieces throughout the season.
 
How many of you are taking advantage of one of the rare annual opportunities we Christians have to publicly promote Christ during this CHRISTmas season with minimal resistance: at the cashier counter, singing (whistling, humming, etc) in the store, greeting people anywhere, and so on? One great place may be the front of your house and yard. Just a simple "Merry CHRISTmas" banner is great instead of that very lame and blasphemous, politically correct "Happy Holiday." But I think what really helps is the pictorial manger scene. We can be an instrument to educate (reeducate) those out there what CHRISTmas is REALLY about. What do you think? Have you got anything outside in your CHRISTmas display which helps to reconnect this holiday with Christ for onlookers?
In Spain they do the whole town of Bethlehem! It's really a sight!
 
In Spain they do the whole town of Bethlehem! It's really a sight!
Amazing! I have never been to Spain. The farthest west I've been is Germany. I had a friend who was stationed in Portugal. He was an F-16 pilot. He and his wife brought back many artifacts from there and Spain. I take that back. On our way over to Iraq more recently we were laid over in Budapest for a few hours.
 
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