Finally!

Well, here I go, my first posting....it took me longer to set up my blog than it did to make all the rosaries in my Etsy shop! And to think that I work with computers everyday in the real world.

I decided that my first posting should be something to get us all in the Christmas spirit and decided to play a little trivia game. I know that most Catholics have a Nativity set or Creche set up in their homes this time of year..but do you know how the tradition of the Creche came into being?  Who actually thought up the first Nativity Scene?

Well, it may surprise you to know that it was actually St. Francis of Assisi! In the year 1223, Francis was visiting the town of Grecio to celebrate Christmas. He wanted to infuse the townspeople of Grecio with the wonder and splendor of the Nativity of Our Lord and he did so by re-creating the manager in Bethlehem, in a niche in a rock near the town square. He set up an alter, the manager, brought in hay, an ox and a donkey to complete the scene. He then preached, as only St. Francis could, on the "Babe of Bethlehem".

Today, Nativity scenes are a visible reminder of that night when our Savior was born. As you are setting up the tree this year, shopping, wrapping and decorating your home, as you set out your Creche, stop;  sit and contemplate the birth of our Savior -  May we never forget to see in our hearts the little Babe of Bethlehem, who came to save us from sin.

Deo Gratias.