Childbirth and Christmas
Jan. 4th, 2015 05:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mawgonThis Christmas, I was talking with a friend about whether it is likely that Jesus was really born in the middle of winter. The first question, which someone else had asked, was: How, if it was in the middle of winter, were there sheep and shepherds?
Now, I don't know anything about the climate there, I always assumed it's just warm enough for them to be outside all year round.
My friend then mentioned that the shepherds got to be invited by angels to see baby Jesus, while the three wise men had to find out for themselves.
That got me thinking. Why invite the shepherds? Well, obviously Jesus was what you would today call a "Social Justice Warrior", so he would have approved. And as he is identical with God, this totally makes sense.
Also, if you were Mary and Joseph, you wouldn't want to have the high society as the only guests for your son's first birthday party. That would be weird, sitting there in your travel clothes and have three rich men with crowns on their heads and silk clothes stand around your baby.
BUT as soon as I imagined Mary as a real life person, who would have been sooo embarassed by having three rich wise men there, and not being able to even offer them drinks, I realized that: Hey, she just had a baby! She probably wants to be left alone!
And that got me thinking. The couple is usually depicted as being all alone in that stable (variably a house or just a shed), so, who helped Mary give birth? Sure, women do that on their own all the time, but Mary was a married woman, visibly pregnant, who had her husband with her, reputation intact, so normally, female solidarity should have gotten some women there, just in case she needed assistance.
So, for the next nativity scene /crib I put under the Christmas tree, I'm going to have a midwive there with Mary, and Joseph can stand outside and entertain the guests. Seems more sensible.
Now, I don't know anything about the climate there, I always assumed it's just warm enough for them to be outside all year round.
My friend then mentioned that the shepherds got to be invited by angels to see baby Jesus, while the three wise men had to find out for themselves.
That got me thinking. Why invite the shepherds? Well, obviously Jesus was what you would today call a "Social Justice Warrior", so he would have approved. And as he is identical with God, this totally makes sense.
Also, if you were Mary and Joseph, you wouldn't want to have the high society as the only guests for your son's first birthday party. That would be weird, sitting there in your travel clothes and have three rich men with crowns on their heads and silk clothes stand around your baby.
BUT as soon as I imagined Mary as a real life person, who would have been sooo embarassed by having three rich wise men there, and not being able to even offer them drinks, I realized that: Hey, she just had a baby! She probably wants to be left alone!
And that got me thinking. The couple is usually depicted as being all alone in that stable (variably a house or just a shed), so, who helped Mary give birth? Sure, women do that on their own all the time, but Mary was a married woman, visibly pregnant, who had her husband with her, reputation intact, so normally, female solidarity should have gotten some women there, just in case she needed assistance.
So, for the next nativity scene /crib I put under the Christmas tree, I'm going to have a midwive there with Mary, and Joseph can stand outside and entertain the guests. Seems more sensible.
