Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Our family has performed the Nativity story each Christmas Eve for about fifty years, and this practice continues with my children in their homes. I hope that the grandchildren continue the practice.
When
enough family members and/or friends are present, we have costumes and act out
the story as it is read. Sometimes, someone puts a different twist on the
presentation, such as the year that we had reporters “interview” the various people
in the story.
Sometimes,
there are too few people to act out the story. One year, we used a Nativity set
to act out the story. Last year, we watched a video of the Nativity because
there were only three of us. The most important thing to know is the story of
the birth of the Savior of the world, and an annual review of the story helps
us to remember it better.
I
thought for this post that I would give the Nativity story straight from the
King James Version of the Bible. In our Christmas Eve portrayal, my family
skips over the introduction in Luke 1, starts with the story in Luke 2, and
ends with the story of the wisemen in Matthew 2.
Luke 1
26 And in the sixth
month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee,
named Nazareth,
27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph,
of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou
that art highly favoured, the Lord is with
thee: blessed art thou
among women.
29 And when she saw him, she
was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this
should be.
30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast
found favour with God.
31 And, behold, thou
shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the
Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his
father David:
33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever;
and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
34 Then said Mary unto
the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall
come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore
also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son
of God.
1 And it came to pass
in those days, that there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus, that all the
world should be taxed.
2 (And this taxing was
first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
4 And Joseph also went
up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, unto the city of
David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage
of David:)
5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great
with child.
6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were
accomplished that she should be delivered.
7 And she brought forth
her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him
in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
8 And there were in the
same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by
night.
9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of
the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good
tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour,
which is Christ the Lord.
12 And this shall be a sign unto
you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the
heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into
heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem,
and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto
us.
16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and
the babe lying in a manger.
17 And when they had seen it, they
made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
18 And all they that
heard it wondered at
those things which were told them by the shepherds.
19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in
her heart.
20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all
the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
21 And when eight days were accomplished
Matthew 2
1 Now when Jesus was born in
Bethlehem of Judæa in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men
from the east to Jerusalem,
2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews?
for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he
was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 And when he had
gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of
them where Christ should be born.
5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judæa: for thus it is
written by the prophet,
6 And thou Bethlehem, in the
land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee
shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of
them diligently what time the star appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search
diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring
me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star,
which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over
where the young child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
11 ¶ And when they were
come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell
down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they
presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should
not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
13 And when they were
departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying,
Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be
thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy
him.
14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night,
and departed into Egypt:
15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be
fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have
I called my son.
