Readers share their favorite Christmas memories

Setting up crèche with grandma and aunt is special Advent memory

By Jody Wyss-Treadwell and Kathann Wyss Koehler (Special to The Criterion)

As children of some 50-plus years ago, it was the best time of our lives to be able to help our beloved Grandmother Kathleen and Aunt Mary—who lived together in a cozy little home on a busy street—set up their Christmas tree and manger scene during Advent.

Every ornament and figurine had been wrapped with love and care each previous year in tissue paper then packed in cardboard boxes.

Unwrapping each item was like opening a present on Christmas morning with much anticipation and being ever so careful not to break the glass ornaments or chip a small fragile piece off of the crèche set.

Once the live tree was set up in the stand and adorned with lights and ornaments, it was time to place the icicles one by one on the branches. There was no throwing the clumps of icicles on the tree.

If we weren’t worn out from the icicle placement, it was finally time to set up the manger scene. This process was nothing short of an acrobatic balancing act. It took a steady hand, planning and patience to repeat this process over and over.

The manger scene was not placed under the tree or on a table, but rather in the front room window for all who would pass by to view.

That would seem effortless, you say, but not when you consider the fact that the entire stable and its figurines were placed between the double-paned glass windows just barely measuring only the width of the stable.

Each little figurine had its special spot on which to be placed as evidenced by the leftover residue of glue from years gone by. They had to fit just perfectly on those spots or they would topple over and there would be Joseph lying on his side.

So with steady hands and many, many attempts, the stable and its occupants were placed in between the front windowpanes.

First, you had to place the entire set in an opening that Houdini would never have figured out how to get out of then turn the scene at a 180-degree angle and push it at least three feet into the center of the front room window.

If we were lucky, it was successful with all figurines standing erect on the first try. That was rare. It usually took at least four or five tries before we were successful.

Then came the process of adding the shepherds and animals on the outside of the stable. They were delicately placed in their designated areas stage left or right with the aid of long-handled tongs.

Yes, tongs! Our arms were far too short to place the figurines close to the stable where they belonged so we used barbecue tongs. That worked!

This grand day of helping our grandmother and aunt was usually topped off by hot chocolate with marshmallows then a Christmas carol sing-along while my aunt played her organ in the front room.

We were careful not to make too much of a ruckus or jump around there for fear that Joseph would end up lying on his side again!

To this day, when we place our crèche out every Christmas, our thoughts wander back to those simple days of pleasure and love with our grandmother and aunt.
 

(Jody Wyss-Treadwell is a member of St. Roch Parish in Indianapolis and Kathann Wyss Koehler is a member of All Saints Parish in Cincinnati.) †