to celebrate today

...being that it's my 28 1/2 birthday and all...

And also that it's the start of the month of Christmas. I love Christmas. Absolutely love it. It's my favorite holiday, behind my birthday (naturally). I love preparing for Christ's birth, the advent wreath, the candles, the preparation of gifts for others, the Christmas tree filled with golden ornaments and white lights, and the sanctuary at Church on Christmas eve filled with green trees, white lights, and tons of singing. I love it.

What drives me nuts about this season?
Tacky holiday celebrations. Taking the "Christ" out of Christmas.
My office having a menorah (though there are no Jewish people in it) and no nativity, for fear of offending someone. Snowmen, jinglebells and Santa taking center stage.

I remember when Stella had an idea a few years back - the conversation went something along these lines.

"I think we should do the Jingle Bell Run. A big group of us."
"Run? Like physically running? Are you serious?"
"Yes! {Insert Stella doing her "give the hand" motions} "It's a run to celebrate the holidays! Where people dress up like Santa's elves, wear bells, and don't mention Jesus! And I hate that with the fire of 1000 suns!"
"So what do we do?"
"We dress up like a NATIVITY and do the run like that! They'll HAVE to notice us then!"
"You mean dress up like Joseph, Mary, Jesus, shepherds, and angels? And run through the streets of Seattle?"
"EXACTLY!"

And so it was. When I signed up for the run, I became Shelley Shepherd. Amy's new name was Amy Angel. And there are some really funny photos - because guess who our little baby Jesus was?

Viper Sonofgod.

And she was good. Squirmy, whiny, just like a little child. And this Jesus wanted to walk on her own four feet occasionally. So Mary walked Jesus from time to time. We were a motley crew, at best. It was a sight.

But to hold you over in the meantime, check out this link of horribly, awful, tacky nativity scenes. There's three pages with a good deal of examples, and they will make you laugh.

The 2004 Cavalcade of Bad Nativities

Oh, and for the record, we were among the LAST PEOPLE finishing the race, all of us in our walking nativity scene. You could say "all eyes were on us".

Postscript...
To this day, I still get solicitations and junk mail addressed to Shelley Shepherd and Viper Sonofgod.

Postscript to the postcript, about the photo above...
I am actually putting this hideous photo on the web, because it was a day to remember. I realize that I look like I've been dressed by Bargain World's rejects, but I never claimed to be a good costumer. That's Stella's job (see her beautiful, flowing Mary costume). And for that matter, everyone knows that striped terry cloth robes were all the rage in JC's time. However, someone should have shot me for wearing a pink, ruffled Ralph Lauren pillowcase on my head. Not my finest choice of costumes.

And you may notice that there is someone who appears to have horns and a long pointed nose. That's real. Well, maybe it's his insides personified on his outsides. Just goes to show you, there's devils everywhere, even at the birth of Christ!