One evening last December I was watching a local news report about a nearby town and how some officials were trying to eliminate a Christmas Nativity from being displayed in the town square. There were protesters, rightfully so, objecting to the town not allowing a Nativity from being displayed. A nativity represents the true reason that we even celebrate Christmas.
I was aggravated by the report as it pointed to a trend of continued caving by our public officials who seem to be catering to the efforts of a handful of secularist individuals that are intent on banning God from our public domain, which includes any representation that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.
Perhaps it was because of the news report that when I went for my regular walk later in the evening I noticed something in my neighborhood that I believe is typical of most communities. On every gleefully decorated front yard I passed there were plenty of colorful green lights, red lights, reindeer, snowmen, elves, Santa’s and wishes of happy holidays. I didn’t see one home with anything displayed celebrating the birth of Christ, or shall I say the true reason for the season.
I began to wonder how many of those protesters supporting public displays of the true meaning of Christmas actually display, on their own front yards, a Nativity or something relating to the birth of our Lord! I had a hunch that many, like me, did not have anything displayed.
When I returned home I found out why. I searched the internet determined to find a nativity set that I could display on my front lawn. To my surprise, I could only find a few pricy figurines in the image of Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus. There was no reasonably priced outdoor Nativity that could be purchased to properly display the images of the Holy family.
Soon after I purchased some wood and figurines and constructed a nativity set of my own. The first evening we illuminated the figurines my five year old niece ran up to the Nativity glowing in the crisp December air and said “look, it’s the baby Jesus”. She instantly recognized the birth of our Lord and we reminded her that his birth is the reason we celebrate Christmas.
We all gathered around to read a passage from Luke on the birth of our Lord and sang Silent Night. My neighbors who joined us then asked if I could make them a Nativity for their front lawn. In fact, I was overwhelmed with requests from friends and neighbors, and barely delivered the last Nativity I made on Christmas Eve.
This year I was able to recruit the help of a friend who is an expert in manufacturing and distribution. A regional woodshop now makes these Nativities for us. We also decided to give all Christian non-profit organizations the opportunity to raise money for their organizations through the sale of these nativities to families and supporters in their community. This way these non-profits can earn the funds needed to help their organizations grow, while celebrating the birth of our Lord, the source and life giving blood of all Christian charity.
We hope you will consider purchasing a Nativity for your front lawn and share the good news in your community. Have a very Merry Christmas.
Thomas G. Kolenberg
Founder
Tkolenberg@optonline.net
Our Mission
Our mission is to simply keep Christ in Christmas and extend to every Christian family the opportunity to celebrate the birth of our Lord by displaying in their front yard a depiction of his birth. That each Christian family will welcome in the season by gathering around their Nativity, read a reflection on the birth of our Lord, sing Christmas carols, and pass on the tradition to their children so they too can reverently celebrate and welcome the true meaning of Christmas each year for generations to come.
