Bethlehem Revisited

One of my favorite parts of the christmas season is some of the things we do every year that become a tradition to look forward to. Something most people around here look forward to is Bethlehem Revisited- a walk-through living nativity right outside of town. It is an incredible experience! When someone arrives, they will go to the welcome center and sip on hot cocoa and munch on cookies while they wait, and once it is time to go, they will load up in a bus with 20-25 other people and head to the hill. They will be led by a guide that will take them through the whole walk. It starts with a few prophets telling about the coming messiah. After walking on up the hill, you see an angel coming to Mary to tell her she is with child, and you continue to walk through the hustling marketplace and to the inn, where Mary and Joseph are told there is no room. You experience the angels coming to the shepherds, and the wise men leaving their place to go search for the messiah. Finally, you see Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus in the stable. It continues to take you through a brief synopsis of the life of Jesus and goes all the way to the cross. For years and years, this has been going on. I remember being very young and going through it with my family. Though i didn't understand all of it when i was little, it is something i have held on to as a great memory from year to year. What i do remember most of all is how real it seems. All the actors have costumes that look like what you think people would have worn in bible times, they use all kinds of animals, and the sets look just like it. Through the years, i have been helping out with it, and doing different things. Some years i got to be a walking singer and go behind the groups while they are walking and sing christmas carols, other years i was in the marketplace selling all kinds of things from frozen chickens to live chickens, baskets, bread, and anything else they pulled out for us! Unfortunately, i was unable to work the first two nights this year, but i enjoyed playing music in the welcome center the last night. It is such an incredible thing and i am so glad to be able to experience it every year in a different way.