Our church, <a title="Trinity_United_Methodist_Church" href="http://www.trinityumcrome.org/" target="_blank">Trinity  United Methodist in Rome</a>, Georgia, began a Live Nativity in 1957. And for the past 54 years, for the five nights before Christmas, Trinity folks have dressed up as Mary and Joseph, wise men, shepherds and angels to represent the birth of Christ.

One of our most enduring and memorable family Christmas traditions has been to stand in the Live Nativity.

[caption id="attachment_902" align="aligncenter" width="479" caption="My niece Haley and great nieces Sophie and Lily as angels in 2010."]<a href="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/angels2010.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-902 " title="angels2010" src="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/angels2010.jpg" alt="" width="479" height="447" /></a>[/caption]
<p style="text-align: left;">Adults stand in 30 minute shifts. Children rotate in and out every 15 minutes or so. At least ten people are needed for each shift: Mary and Joseph; 3 wise men (or women), 3 shepherds and 2 angels.  But, most of the time, we have more than 2 angels, and shepherd boys, baby angels and, in recent years, we've added a page who holds the rope for the camel.<a href="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/nativity2010.jpg"><img class="aligncenter  wp-image-904" title="nativity2010" src="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/nativity2010.jpg" alt="" width="480" height="291" /></a></p>


[caption id="attachment_901" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="In addition to the people who stand in the Live Nativity, several people serve each night, helping people to get into costume."]<a href="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/LilyDressed2010.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-901 " title="LilyDressed2010" src="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/LilyDressed2010-300x234.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="234" /></a>[/caption]

Our church is on a major five-lane road, in the middle of town.  So hundred of cars pass us every night in the two hours (7 pm - 9 pm) that we present the Live Nativity.

I played the part of an angel, as a teenager, in the 1960s.  And my husband Gregg and I and our children, would stop by and take a turn, whenever we were in Rome visiting my brother Terrell, even before we moved back to Georgia in 1988.

[caption id="attachment_909" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Once everyone is dressed, we stand for a photo. Then we pray that as people drive by they will remember that Christmas is Jesus&#39; birthday."]<a href="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/NativityInside.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-909 " title="NativityInside" src="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/NativityInside.jpg" alt="" width="480" height="238" /></a>[/caption]

We also have animals, usually a donkey and two or three sheep.  For two years we hired a live camel.  Then a church member constructed the camel statue, pictured below. Our camel is named Craven, after Paul, Frank and Allen Craven, the three generations of Craven men who have constructed the stable scene over the past 54 years.

[caption id="attachment_913" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Live Nativity 2011"]<a href="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/fullnativity.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-913" title="fullnativity" src="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/fullnativity.jpg" alt="" width="480" height="251" /></a>[/caption]

Our family usually stands on two of the five nights of the Nativity - the night assigned to our Sunday School class and on Christmas Eve.

[caption id="attachment_912" align="aligncenter" width="479" caption="Our DIL Emily as Mary, our son Matthew as Joseph, Christmas 2011"]<a href="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/EmilyMattMaryJoseph.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-912 " title="EmilyMattMaryJoseph" src="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/EmilyMattMaryJoseph.jpg" alt="" width="479" height="460" /></a>[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_921" align="aligncenter" width="348" caption="Matthew as a shepherd boy, Christmas 1988."]<a href="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/MatthewShepherd1988.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-921 " title="MatthewShepherd1988" src="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/MatthewShepherd1988-664x1024.jpg" alt="" width="348" height="536" /></a>[/caption]