In my last post about holiday decorating, I mentioned that I'm not so into the religiosity of the holiday season. Nonetheless, I have a teeny weenie nativity scene up in my apartment at the moment.
I've never put one up before, but my parents downsized from a house to a condo awhile back and I inherited what was left of the nativity scene my mother used to put out when I was a little girl. I think she got it from her mother-in-law, my grandmother, in the late 70s or early 80s. The pieces were made in Italy, from papier-mâché, and over the years, most have broken. This is probably for the best. (I was never all that comfortable with the set. It featured a snow-white Mary, Joseph and Baby Jebus, three "arab" styled worshipful wise men, and a variety of location-inappropriate livestock.)
Only five pieces remain: Mary, Joe and baby, plus one three-legged sheep and a grumpy looking horned cow, whose horns have seen better days.
I've never put one up before, but my parents downsized from a house to a condo awhile back and I inherited what was left of the nativity scene my mother used to put out when I was a little girl. I think she got it from her mother-in-law, my grandmother, in the late 70s or early 80s. The pieces were made in Italy, from papier-mâché, and over the years, most have broken. This is probably for the best. (I was never all that comfortable with the set. It featured a snow-white Mary, Joseph and Baby Jebus, three "arab" styled worshipful wise men, and a variety of location-inappropriate livestock.)
Only five pieces remain: Mary, Joe and baby, plus one three-legged sheep and a grumpy looking horned cow, whose horns have seen better days.
So why did I set these aged pieces out? I don't know. I considered tossing them, or donating them to Goodwill, but somehow, when the time came, I felt strangely attached. I like their vintage flavour, the careful paint job on the papier-mâché, the retro colouring, the delicate nature of each handmade piece. I even like the grubby old bits of browned cotton they came wrapped in. They're wonderfully retro, if little else.
I figure, I'll put the last remaining pieces out for nostalgia's sake, and most likely, seeing as how I'm a big klutz, they'll break one by one, until I have no nativity at all. And then my natural instincts will take over and the Kalman-Selk home will be nativity-less forevermore.
I figure, I'll put the last remaining pieces out for nostalgia's sake, and most likely, seeing as how I'm a big klutz, they'll break one by one, until I have no nativity at all. And then my natural instincts will take over and the Kalman-Selk home will be nativity-less forevermore.
RSS Feed