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2004 November/December

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The Holy Family
by Joan Thomasson

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, (because he was of the house and lineage of David) to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that when they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. (The Bible, King James edition, Luke 2:4-7) The central focus of our Nativity Set is, of course, the Holy Family with Mary and Joseph proudly watching their very special Son. In the Baroque tradition, Jesus is presented as almost the size of a year old toddler rather than a tiny newborn. Whether this was done in paintings and sculpture from Giotto in the 13th Century, Michelangelo (Bruges Madonna) in the 15th Century; Leonardo Da Vinci (Madonna of the Rocks and The Virgin, Child, and St. Anne) in the 16th Century; or Rembrandt in his 17th Century "Child in the Manager;" to be able to place more importance and expression in the Christ child's portrayal; or just that European mothers were unwilling to expose fragile newborns to the rigors of artists' studios, the results are the same. I have followed this tradition of making the Child older allowing for a more life-like baby who was, and should be, the central focus of the story.

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