Tag Archives: Nativity

Focusing on the Nativity

Christmas is a time when we celebrate the birth of Christ. It is too easy to become caught up in the commercialism of Christmas. As a family it is important to bring the true focus of Christmas to our children. Here are four ideas for your family. One way to do this is to display the nativity in your home. You can talk to your children as you set it up and tell them the story. This is a great way to help young children to learn the story of Christ’s birth. It is also nice to have a nativity … Continue reading →

Focus on the Nativity

If you are looking for last minute ideas on ways to incorporate the Nativity into your Christmas celebration, you should search the church’s website with the words friend and Nativity. The activities range from complicate to simple and are targeted for children’s abilities and interests. This Nativity game is fun and educational as it explains the symbolism behind each of the figures in the Nativity scene. If you act out the Nativity every year, you may want to change it a bit by focusing more on music as you act out the story. The Christmas hymns are a wonderful way … Continue reading →

The Nativity Story (2006)

Last year, when I first saw ads for “The Nativity Story,” I was concerned that Hollywood had taken this most sacred of events and commercialized it. However, I was impressed and surprised. The story was beautiful and well-done, and I highly recommend it. We get the story from a couple of different angles. We see King Herod and understand more about his position, why the coming of the Christ-child was such a threat to him that he would murder so many babies in order to keep Christ from taking over his throne. Not that Christ would have done such a … Continue reading →

What Made the Wise Men Wise?

Who were these Magi, also known as “wise men” who came to Christ? These men were believed to be Zervanism, a religious branch of Zoroastrianism which was pagan in essence worshiping the god Ahura Mazda, whose name in part means intelligent or wise. The men were astrologers as well, likely studying the heavens as part of their religion. Though traditionally we see three wise men pictured in the nativity scene, the Bible gives no exact reference to how many actually came to see Jesus. We know there were three types of gifts that were brought for Christ: gold, frankincense and … Continue reading →

Life Imitates Art for Young Actress

If you have heard about the new movie The Nativity Story, you may know there is a bit of a twist to it. Not the story itself, it seems to be the traditional tale of the birth of Jesus, but the young actress who plays Mary is actually pregnant. I don’t know if any actress has ever starred as Mary in a movie when she was pregnant. You may remember the young actress starring as Mary, Keisha Castle-Hughes. In 2003, the New Zealander played a head-strong Maori girl, Paikea, in the movie Whale Rider. Never having acted before, the casting … Continue reading →