Tan plastic Baby Jesus - BABY100
This tan plastic Baby Jesus is perfect for children's Advent activity and for a King's Cake. 1.5" x .5"
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Tan plastic Baby Jesus for Preparing the Manger for Baby Jesus:
Preparing the Manger for Christmas
Preparing the Manger for Christmas is the tradition of making the manger soft for Baby Jesus by adding straws in the manger. The straws reflect good deeds and spiritual efforts made during Advent. For every good deed done, one piece of straw is placed in the manger. This simple activity touches all ages. The manger or crib is a symbol of our hearts. Advent is the time to prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ at Christmas.
Think of Jesus born in the stable in Bethlehem, an Infant in the manger, of that cold night, the strange place and the hard manger. Let this thought touch our hearts. How can we prepare our mangers, our hearts, for Jesus so that He will be welcome, warm, comfortable and safe? The straws in the manger reflect the extra good deeds for members of our family, our friends, our classmates, the prompt obedience, the kindness to siblings, the well-said prayers, the extra prayers and sacrifices, the help without asking, etc. all Advent long. We are preparing our hearts for Christ to enter on Christmas.
This is the beginning formation in the spiritual life. In the evening, or if this is a classroom prompted activity, during class time, the child reflects on his day to recall the efforts made to earn a straw. This is an early form of examining one's conscience, an important daily Christian habit.
Constructing a crib or manger is not complicated. It can be made of simple materials, such as a decorated oatmeal box or shoe box, a wooden Clementine box or a box constructed from wood or branches. The main idea is that the manger's bottom and sides can hold the straw so all the "good works” do not fall out. The straw can also be yarn or raffia cut in 3-4" strips, wood shavings (neatly packaged at the craft store), or strips of paper. It's best to use materials large enough that the children can easily see progress in filling the manger.
Blessing of the Crib
On Christmas Eve or Christmas morning before the gifts are opened, the family processes with lighted candles to the empty manger. The youngest child holds the Baby Jesus while everyone sings Silent Night and places it in the manger. The age and attention span dictates the length of the prayers, but the ceremony can include the passage from the the Gospel of Luke 2:15-20 on the Birth of Jesus Christ, various prayers, including the Magnificat and the Blessing of the Crib, and then sing O Come All Ye Faithful or the last verse of Silent Night.
This Blessing of the Christmas Crib is for use in the home, and can be adjusted for use in the classroom. Suggested to use Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, before opening the gifts, prayed by the family members over the Crib.
Prayer:
MARY'S MAGNIFICAT
The father of the family recites the antiphon, and then the Magnificat, alternating verses with the rest of the family.
Antiphon: The Lord has regarded humble persons and places, therefore all generations shall call them blessed.
My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior:
Because he has regarded the lowliness of his handmaid;
for behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed;
Because he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name:
And his mercy is from generation to generation,
on those who fear him.
He has shown might with his arm,
he has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and has exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has given help to Israel, his servant,
mindful of his mercy.
Even as he spoke to our fathers
to Abraham and to his posterity forever.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Antiphon: The Lord has regarded humble persons and places, therefore all generations shall call them blessed.
FIRST READING
The mother of the family reads:
The eternal Son of God having become man out of love for us, chose to be born in a lowly stable, rather than in the greatest palace of kings. Being rich, He became poor for our sake to show us how greatly He loves poverty and humility. But the presence of the King of kings made this lowly shelter to be the most honorable and noble of royal palaces. Herein He was pleased to be, adored by His virgin mother and father, by the poor shepherds, and by the wealthy wise men. As a man among men Christ came for all men, of all times, and all places; unless we say "there is no room," He will come into our home this Christmas night, and will make it a place of splendor, of love and of great joy.
All answer: Thanks be to God.
Mother: The Word was made flesh, Alleluia.
All: And dwells among us, Alleluia.
SECOND READING
One of the children reads:
From the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke:
At that time the shepherds were saying to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this event that has come to pass which the Lord has made known to us." So they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in the manger. And when they had seen, they understood what had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard marveled at the things told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept in mind all these words pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, even as it was spoken to them.
Each member of the family kisses the Gospel text.
PRAYER
Father: O Lord, hear my prayer.
All: And let my cry come unto Thee.
Father: The Lord be with you.
All: And with you also.
Father: O God, out of your love for us you sent your dearly beloved Son to become man. You willed that he be born in a humble stable in order to give us an example of humility. We pray you now to bless this crib, a representation of the scene of his birth; may it draw us closer to him. By imitating his humility may we become a worthy dwelling place for his rebirth, Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord.
All: Amen.
All sing, "O Come All Ye Faithful" or "Silent Night."
Prayer Source: Twelve Days of Christmas, The by Elsa Chaney, The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN, 1955
Tan plastic Baby Jesus for King's Cake:
The "King Cake" has its name from the Magi (the Three Kings) of the Bible, who came from the East, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, to worship the newborn King, Jesus. In Catholic liturgical tradition, the Solemnity of Epiphany celebrates the visit of the Magi, the Three Kings, to the Christ Child and is commemorated on January 6. The Eve of Epiphany, the night of January 5, is popularly known as Twelfth Night as the Twelve Days of Christmas are counted from Christmas Eve until this night. The season for King Cake extends from the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas, Twelfth Night and Epiphany Day, up until Mardi Gras, or "Fat Tuesday;" the day before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Some people may have "King Cake parties" every week through the Carnival season. A cake is baked with a plastic Baby Jesus in the batter. In some traditions, whoever gets the King Cake Baby Jesus, in their piece of cake, is expected to buy the next cake for these get-togethers.
The King Cake is a popular food item during the Christmas season (Christmas Eve to Epiphany) in Belgium, France, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Greece, Cyprus, Portugal, Spain, Quebec, and Latin America. In the United States, Carnival is traditionally observed in the southeastern part of the country, particularly in New Orleans, St. Louis, Mobile, Pensacola, Galveston and other towns and cities of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. In this region, the King Cake is closely associated with Mardi Gras traditions and is served throughout the Carnival season, which lasts from Epiphany Eve to Fat Tuesday.
It is thought that the festivities of Carnival were brought to Louisiana by French-Canadian explorer Pierre Le Moyne d’lberville. He led an expedition on behalf of the French crown and on March 2, 1699, he set up camp along the Mississippi River, 60 miles south of the present location of New Orleans. It just so happened the next day was Mardi Gras, and so began the celebration of Mardi Gras. The King Cake tradition is thought to have been brought to New Orleans from France in 1870. Now, as part of the celebration, it is traditional to bake a cake (King Cake) in honor of the Three Kings. The official colors of Mardi Gras, created in 1872 by the Krewe of Rex, are purple for justice, green for faith, and gold for power. Some incorporate these colors into three colors of icing on the King’s Cake.
