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Live nativity thrills young and old

2 min read
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Jessi Scheib gently adjusted the white cloth covering her head as she portrayed Mary during a live nativity held Dec. 22 in the indoor mini mall of the Donaldson Crossroads Shopping Center. The event was sponsored by Iddy Biddy Fashions, a children’s consignment shop, where Scheib is employed.

Michael Scheib sat beside his wife Jessi Scheib as he portrayed Joseph. For the young couple, taking part in the living nativity and acting as the parents of a newborn baby Jesus was excellent practice.

Jessi Scheib may have been holding a plastic baby doll in swaddling clothes, but she quickly patted her expanding abdomen and said the couple is expecting their first child, a boy.

However, as far as the excited children were concerned, the living nativity was not centered around Jessi and Michael Scheib as Mary and Joseph. The children were there – many wearing fancy Christmas outfits – to see the two goats, calf, sheep, potbellied pig, donkey, pony and alpaca.

Holding a living nativity a few days before Christmas was the idea of Sarah Coligan, owner of Iddy Biddy Fashions.

This was the first year for the living nativity just outside the front door of her store, but it won’t be the last, Coligan said part way through the two-hour event.

“I hope to do this for years to come. It worked out pretty well,” Coligan said.

Children scampered outside the small pens holding the animals provided by the Barnyard Petty Zoo. There was no intermingling with the animals, but the fence was low and the children could easily pat the animals or fed some with a baby bottle.

Preparing for the event began about two weeks ago.

“It was a last minute idea,” Coligan said. Iddy Bitty Fashions was open and doing a brisk business during the live nativity. Twenty percent of the proceeds were donated to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The live nativity had a deeper meaning than to promote her business or to bring in new customers, Coligan said.

“The purpose was to teach children in the community about the real meaning of Christmas,” she said.

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