Away in a Manger....

No one uses the word "manger" much anymore.

It's kind of an old-fashioned word.

One of its meanings, which we hear about around Christmas time, is a trough used to feed animals.

When one stops to think about it, the birth of the Christ child really was quite unique.

He had, as the songs tell us, "no crib for a bed"  but Mary, His mother, and Joseph, her husband, made do.

"The stars in the sky, look down where He lay" (from the song "Away in a Manger,"  and they are still shining!

The story, told hundreds upon hundreds of times, never gets old.

While it's fun to decorate with Santa figures and angels, decorated trees, and poinsettias, the most meaningful of decorations for Christmas are manger scenes.

I have no idea how many have been accumulated here, in the apartment, but it doesn't matter.  

They are reminders of why Christmas continues to be so blessedly celebrated.