Tercera semana de Adviento

The third light of Advent is the light of beasts
Light of hope that lives
in the greatest and the least

Advent time is also a time for me to keep my own traditions alive!!  We get busy the very first week with the decoration of our big Nativity scene, the way it was done at my house when I was little.

We collected old boxes for a while, the covered them with brown paper and on top of them we covered them with moss and rocks to create the village and the road that Mary and Joseph walked on their way to Bethlehem.

This year, I finally finished needle felting the figures for the Nativity set, Mary and Joseph walking to Bethlehem with the donkey.

The three wise man

the sheperd with his sheep

The angels bringing down the Christ Child

This Nativity scene is very special for us in Colombia because from December 16th until the 24th, we sit around it to pray to Baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph and to sing "villancicos.  It is a wonderful tradition for us, and one I have the fondest memories from.  The songs and the prayers are intertwined which makes it more kid friendly and we get out our musical instruments...a very festive mood indeed!