Away in a Manger: the Quirky Creche

I have always been enchanted by the fact that Jesus was born in a manger (did I mention that I was a home birth mom?). Perhaps it's the mental merging of the home birth experience with a love for diverse small farms...or something like that. One of my favorite children's books is Who is Coming to Our House?, by artist Ashley Wolff. She uses a linoleum block technique to illustrate Joseph Slate's story of animals anticipating the birth. Christ's name is never even used (though Joseph's and Mary's are): "Who is coming to our house?" "Someone, someone," says mouse. It is subtle and somehow more awe-some.

It's soon time to pack away the little array of Christmas decorations we have our on our sideboard. I decorated our little Hoosier cabin to make a quirky creche. Christ observes his own swaddling self from the vantage point of both childhood and young manhood, alongside other guests.

I was at the home of Malcolm Dalglish and Judy Klein the other day  – for years, with their daughters Naomi and Mia, they've created a mossy creche at the base of their gloriously old-fashioned Christmas tree. There are a couple of nuns standing at a respectful distance from the babe, and a Mexican women's chorus singing nearby, as well as a large rooster observing from a branch of the Christmas tree. Here is the scene, enhanced for a few numinous effects, including a multiplied, more emphatic, choral ensemble.(And I love the ghostly praying squirrel.)

Here's another sweet moment in their tree: a little Hickory bark skier. (And many thanks to Judy for coining the word "diversitrees" in relation to Susan Bee's paintings, and pointing out that this, too, is one.)