The First Christmas Town

For all my readers, I hope that you’ll be able to visit the Creation Museum at this special time of year when we present our free outdoor nativity and light display. Christmas Town begins this weekend, so check out the website for more details. My family and I attended a special preview of the event last Saturday. We braved the cold and snow and were well rewarded for our efforts. Every year this event gets better and better. There are “mini-dramas” that occur as you travel on the path that takes you to the nativity, including the shepherds and other people talking excitedly about the birth of Jesus. There is even a special Jewish dance that takes place near the nativity that visitors can participate in.

One of the things that really impresses me about the Creation Museum’s presentation of the nativity is the attention to historical and biblical accuracy and detail. I can’t tell you how many time this Christmas season I have cringed at articles I’ve read or plays I’ve seen performed that are just plain wrong. For example, in a local newspaper it was stated in relation to the night Jesus was born, “. . . the guiding star that led the shepherds to Him . . .” No, the star was to help the wise men find Jesus, not the shepherds—and the wise men didn’t visit Jesus on the night He was born; it was at a later point (see Matthew 2).

Then in a children’s play that took place at a church I visited, there was an innkeeper telling Mary and Joseph that he had no room but they could stay in the stable, and on that very night (of their arrival) Mary gave birth. No, Scripture indicates that Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem for some period of time before Mary gave birth (Luke 2:6), there was no innkeeper, and they likely stayed in the lower portion of a family home where the animals were kept. For an excellent article examining some of these misconceptions see, Born in a Barn (Stable)?

I’m thrilled that the Creation Museum can offer a historically and biblically accurate portrayal of the nativity, and this event is free so that many will hear the good news of Jesus as both our Creator and Redeemer. This event has become a Christmas family tradition for us, and I hope it will be for your family, too.