NewsBreak Original

Nativity Scene - Christmas SeasonPhoto byPhuc Tran/pexel.com. I love the atmosphere of the Christmas season and its intended benefits. It’s that time of the year when I can tolerate mankind and am proud to be a human being. People are kinder and more generous. They focus on dispensing cheer and expect a similar, if not equal, response commensurate with their efforts. Even house-to-house caroling is a gesture of hope and belonging. There is no better time to invite aliens from the remotest corners of the galaxy to show off mankind’s humanity in all its splendor.

Just on the heels of the news that the Dedham, Massachusetts library will be putting up its Christmas tree comes another holiday display getting attention, this time here in Maine. The Maine chapter of the Freedom from Religion Foundation contacted the town of Bucksport over the nativity scene the town places on Main Street. Tom Waddell, a Litchfield, Maine resident, is the president of the Maine chapter, and he applied for a permit to put up a display next to the nativity scene that consists of this poster about the Bill of Rights and the winter solstice.

Live Nativity scenes celebrate the true meaning of the season. Many older adults in this area grew up in a time when Sunday school pageants and school plays depicted the birth of Christ with children as well as adults playing the roles of Mary, Joseph, Shepherds, and the wise men and dolls portraying baby Jesus. In recent years live Nativity scenes have become popular where you can drive or walk through a depiction of the first Christmas and Shenandoah Baptist Church is hosting one this holiday season.