"TORTOISES, FLAMINGOS, SEA LIONS, BLUE-FOOTED BOOBIES... AND BABY JESUS? Oh my!" I exclaimed. "Sarah! Get back on the tour bus," my husband implored. I willfully ignored him, eager to document the fascinating nativity scene, which seemed remarkably perfect for an island in the Galapagos.
Although Jesus is the nativity attraction for most people, I'm more intrigued by the animals. During December, our shelves overflow with creche sets from around the world. Shiny black soapstone kings and camels from Kenya sit beside a German display sporting a donkey. A group from Peru features llamas, while the Alaskan one offers a walrus. And while this tusked mammal may seem logical in the snow-filled scenes we Americans love to display at Christmas, I can say with 100 percent certainty that a walrus was not present in the temperate climate at Jesus's birth.
WHO WAS REALLY AT "THE FIRST CHRISTMAS"?
We don't know. The Gospels don't agree on which humans were present and don't precisely mention animals. While the book of Matthew suggests wise men, hence the inclusion of camel figurines, the book of Luke mentions shepherds, and so we get sheep.
A much later extracanonical text, referred to as the Gospel of PseudoMatthew, adds an ox and donkey to the story assuredly to link passages from the Jewish scriptures to Jesus's birth. Pope Benedict was once questioned regarding their presence in a Vatican display. Conceding the animals could not be verified in scripture, he added, "No nativity scene will give up its ox and donkey." (Unless it's for a moose or tortoise, I might posit.)
This story is from the November/December 2022 edition of Spirituality & Health.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November/December 2022 edition of Spirituality & Health.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
ONE WORD TO BEAT WINTER BLUES: BIOMIMICRY
CREATURELY REFLECTIONS
THINKING ABOUT RESTITUTION
THE HEART OF HAPPINESS
WAITING IN LINE
OUR WALK IN THE WORLD
ENTER THE SAUNA
Journalist Emily O’Kelly shares some uplifting research on the benefits of sweat bathing, a global healing practice not just limited to Northern climes.
the trail of ATONEMENT
One Ashkenazi Jewish family escaped pogroms in Russia and then flourished in South Dakota, but the “free land” of their new homestead had been unfairly taken from the Lakota by the United States. Generations later, a celebrated investigative journalist set out to tell the truth of the Lakota and her family, calculate The Cost of Free Land—and pay it back.
STALKING YOUR Mind
Stalking the Mind is part of an ancient Indigenous American Medicine Way to tame your guilt, fears, and shame. What we’re “stalking” are our thought patterns and beliefs that seem to create the opposite of happiness and wellbeing. It’s a powerful psychotherapeutic journey of healing without the diagnosis or labels.
LEAVING MESA VERDE
After 21 years of service at Mesa Verde National Park, RANGER DAVID FRANKS recently guided his last tour of the pueblos and cliff dwellings. He says he was fortunate to assist the archeologists with a variety of work and never lost his amazement with their ability to figure out how and when things happened. The question he still wrestles with is much deeper: Why they left?
BECOMING YOUR OWN LEAD RESEARCHER IN HEALTHCARE
PEGGY LA CERRA, PHD, downloaded a health app to aggregate her medical records and was stunned to see the phrase \"aortic atherosclerosis.\" What she did next is a helpful model for all of us.
ARCHETYPAL ASTROLOGY
\"Is astrology true?\" is the wrong question, writes RABBI RAMI SHAPIRO. He suggests that the truth is out there, but out there is really in here.
WELLNESS IN THE WILD
Spa aficionado MARY BEMIS takes the [cold] plunge at Mohonk Mountain House.