Like many small towns our community is centered around the churches. The center of town is actually the Methodist church and the local bank; which is right in the middle of 'main street' (the church was the first building here, the town built around it). Leading up to the 'center of town' are all of the other churches, all neatly in a row one by one. (At least the historic churches that have been here for decades. The Methodist church pre-dates the civil war and some of the other churches came in shortly after). Each church has a manger scene up.
One has colorful lights, white Mary and Joseph, a GIANT Baby Jesus (if you hold him up he's as tall as Mary and Joseph), magi in colorful robes and crowns, shepherds and animals kneeling, angels and harp players, and a little drummer boy.
Next up, a big barn. Lined with hay. An ageing white-haired white Joseph with a staff, wearing a crown and clothed in blue and purple (royalty) robes, and Mary in a Blue shawl over a white gown, gazes at the infant in a feed trough, same well-appointed Magi, multitude of angels and shepherds.
Next up! The smallest. This one is in this weird half-dome thing, that maybe is trying to not show the building at all but just the 'people'. This one has no Baby Jesus, they don't put him there until Christmas eve (cool!), Joseph is a middle aged white man with a well trimmed beard and short, clean hair. He's standing behind Mary, oddly enough he's wearing 2nd century BC Roman style clothing, and his short hair is sort of cropped like Roman men wore. Mary, a white young woman, is kneeling in her pretty dress next to the empty feed trough. A single (female, long haired; as the other scenes) Angel is suspended above the half-dome. The Magi are outside of the dome wearing strangle looking clothes and hats that look like Orthodox priests habits. All purple, blue, red, etc. The shepherds are young boys in this scene similarly clothed in Roman toga robes, with their tiny little lambs obedienting kneeling. Camels are bowing in reverence towards the feet trough.
And finally, we get to the last manger scene on the street. A young Jospeh with unkempt hair and brown skin and tired eyes looks longingly at Mary as a dirty, smudges, clothes in rags with covered hair young Mary looks at the Baby in the manger, his is wrapped in clothes and sleeping. No Magi are present. Middle-aged shepherds are there (no animals in this particular scene), standing outside of this square scene made it look like the animal/storage area underneath a 1st century home (3 walls and a stone 'top' that is made to look like the floor of an invisible house). Unlike all of the other manger scenes, this one omits garland, colorful (or white) Christmas lights, no poinsettias, no bows. No angels even. Just a plain, quiet, simple scene. Illuminated with spotlights.
Wanna know who had that final, glorious, accurate, beautiful manger scene? The Baptists? The Catholics? No? Out of Guesses?
The Bank.
One has colorful lights, white Mary and Joseph, a GIANT Baby Jesus (if you hold him up he's as tall as Mary and Joseph), magi in colorful robes and crowns, shepherds and animals kneeling, angels and harp players, and a little drummer boy.
Next up, a big barn. Lined with hay. An ageing white-haired white Joseph with a staff, wearing a crown and clothed in blue and purple (royalty) robes, and Mary in a Blue shawl over a white gown, gazes at the infant in a feed trough, same well-appointed Magi, multitude of angels and shepherds.
Next up! The smallest. This one is in this weird half-dome thing, that maybe is trying to not show the building at all but just the 'people'. This one has no Baby Jesus, they don't put him there until Christmas eve (cool!), Joseph is a middle aged white man with a well trimmed beard and short, clean hair. He's standing behind Mary, oddly enough he's wearing 2nd century BC Roman style clothing, and his short hair is sort of cropped like Roman men wore. Mary, a white young woman, is kneeling in her pretty dress next to the empty feed trough. A single (female, long haired; as the other scenes) Angel is suspended above the half-dome. The Magi are outside of the dome wearing strangle looking clothes and hats that look like Orthodox priests habits. All purple, blue, red, etc. The shepherds are young boys in this scene similarly clothed in Roman toga robes, with their tiny little lambs obedienting kneeling. Camels are bowing in reverence towards the feet trough.
And finally, we get to the last manger scene on the street. A young Jospeh with unkempt hair and brown skin and tired eyes looks longingly at Mary as a dirty, smudges, clothes in rags with covered hair young Mary looks at the Baby in the manger, his is wrapped in clothes and sleeping. No Magi are present. Middle-aged shepherds are there (no animals in this particular scene), standing outside of this square scene made it look like the animal/storage area underneath a 1st century home (3 walls and a stone 'top' that is made to look like the floor of an invisible house). Unlike all of the other manger scenes, this one omits garland, colorful (or white) Christmas lights, no poinsettias, no bows. No angels even. Just a plain, quiet, simple scene. Illuminated with spotlights.
Wanna know who had that final, glorious, accurate, beautiful manger scene? The Baptists? The Catholics? No? Out of Guesses?
The Bank.