The Christmas Crib

When I was young, it was quite common to see Cribs in shopping centres or in High Streets around Christmastime.  Usually they were provided be the Knights of St Columba, or some organisation like that.  Nowadays they are less common.  For about the last 10 years, I have organised the putting up of a outdoor crib in the grounds of the Catholic Church in Howden.  It is illuminated, so makes quite a spectacle at night.

There is a story on Catholicism Pure and Simple about attempts to to site a crib in a shoppling centre in Stirling in Scotland.  Apparently the owners of the shopping centre refused permission for a crib.  Not to be put off, some enterprising young people decided to have a live crib with the characters of Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus wandering around the shopping centre asking whether there was room at the inn.  The response from the shoppers was very positive, and it became a major news item.

Later the owners of the shopping centre changed their minds and made a public statement of how much the welcomed the initiative.  Read the full story at Catholicism Pure and Simple.