Bethlehem comes to life in the Huon Valley
By Josh Low
Picture wandering beggars, Roman soldiers, grazing sheep, scribes telling stories on the street, an angel announcing the birth of Christ and King Herod fanned on his throne while sipping on his mango flavoured Powerade.
Ok, so that last one gave it away – it wasn’t the Kingdom of Judea during the year of Jesus’ birth, but Christmas Eve in the Huon Valley just two months ago.
It was, however, truly a sight to behold as the area outside St James’ Church presbytery in Cygnet was transformed by the Huon Valley Parish community into a live reenactment of olden-day Bethlehem.
Dubbed ‘Come to Bethlehem’, the live, interactive scene sought to bring the Nativity to life for all present.
Organiser Rachel Bradley said the intention was to communicate the true Christmas story and evangelise by offering a fun, interactive and immersive experience.
“We wanted to attract people and allow them a taste of what it might have been like to be in Bethlehem at the time of Jesus’s birth,” she said.
“Another goal was to have the whole parish working together and utilising their different gifts.
“A group of parishioners started planning early in the year, collecting props and materials and organising everything.
“So many people took part; not just the actors but helpers to set up and clear away, to make costumes, scour op shops for fabric and props, lend us animals and make props such as a working ancient type potter’s wheel and copies of ancient tools.”
The fully interactive experience saw participants have their names taken down by the census takers, before receiving a bag of coins to spend at various stalls – a carpenter, basket weaver, potter, and a herbalist.
“You could ‘buy’ food and drink at the inn or at the baker, listen to stories told by the scribes and try to avoid the officious Roman soldiers and beggars roaming the streets,” Rachel said.
“King Herod made an appearance, and the three Wise Men could be seen asking around where they could find the infant King of the Jews, with Mary and Joseph also coming through the street looking for somewhere to stay.
An angel appeared on the top balcony of the presbytery to announce the good news of Jesus’ birth, followed by a simple nativity play and the singing of carols.
With overwhelmingly positive feedback from the many who turned up, Rachel said the hope is to create a parish tradition.
“We hope to remind people of the real meaning of Christmas, and gently communicate that this has significance for them now – that it’s not just a story about something that happened long ago.
“We would love to keep doing this every Christmas Eve and we hope it will become a real tradition in our parish and an effective way to reach out to the wider community,” she said.