Author Archives: chrissythehyphenated

On December 27, I wrote a few paragraphs in Bits & Bytes about Christopher Rufo’s theory that “Cluster B psychological traits have begun to shape the patterns and structures of our culture.” Wikipedia explains they “are characterized by dramatic, impulsive, self-destructive, emotional behavior and sometimes incomprehensible interactions with others.”

Cluster B Personality Disorders

Antisocial personality disorder: A pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others, lack of empathy and remorse, callousness, bloated self-image, manipulative and impulsive behavior.

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf-AkXfRllQ [11:42] to see an unnamed woman show off an impressive array of antisocial personality traits during her traffic stop and subsequent arrest.

Borderline personality disorder: A pervasive pattern of abrupt emotional outbursts, fear of abandonment, unhealthy attachment, altered empathy, instability in relationships, self-image, identity, behavior and affect, often leading to self-harm and impulsivity.

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfS_lfutEQ0 [7:47] to see body cam footage of Sierra Hibbert’s wild attempt to evade arrest, while her child was in the car.

Histrionic personality disorder: A pervasive pattern of attention-seeking behavior, including excessive emotions, an impressionistic style of speech, inappropriate seduction, exhibitionism, and egocentrism.

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCKI8JYN2Og [4:57] for footage of Jeremy Dewitte, convicted sex offender and serial police impersonator who is also facing nearly a dozen charges of insurance fraud.

Narcissistic personality disorder: A pervasive pattern of superior grandiosity, haughtiness, need for admiration, deceiving others, and a lack of empathy.

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8icJ-6AzsE [1:38] to hear how Officer Breanna Straus earned herself a well-deserved, one shift, suspension without pay.

DISCLAIMER: I disavow any suggestion that I am diagnosing any particular person. I’m not an armchair psychologist, just a person who has been observing human behavior for many years and noticing how dramatically it has changed in recent years.

SHORTS: CLICK for smile-inducing traffic stop videos to cleanse your emotional palate.

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/u0JHGCEiJD0.

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/XtMvJw4-ARQ.

• https://polination.blog/2023/12/27/bits-bytes-1652/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personality_disorder#Cluster_B_(emotional_or_erratic_disorders)
• https://nypost.com/2022/07/19/georgia-woman-captured-ramming-suv-into-cops-i-didnt-do-anything/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Dewitte
• https://www.wftv.com/news/local/jeremy-dewitte-central-floridas-fake-cop-facing-slew-insurance-fraud-charges/6EQTBTCY3NB37EPCNTUM3ZIJHI/

2024: Maine’s Democrat Secretary of State Shenna Bellows decided all on her lonesome that Trump can’t be on Maine’s primary ballot; Republican lawmakers in Maine have threatened to bring impeachment proceedings against her and the Trump campaign has challenged the decision in court. Both of Maine’s U.S. Senators – Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Independent Sen. Angus King – say the decision should be overturned.

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized calling these efforts “a political distraction.” Constitutional scholar Alan Dershowitz says they are a “serious frontal attack on democracy.” Presidential wannabe Chris Christie whined that they are turning Trump into a martyr. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) reminded states that the U.S. House of Representatives holds ultimate authority over certifying electors.

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Anfm6dnoisY to see the real reason behind the efforts to block Trump from state primary ballots.

• https://www.newsmax.com/politics/maine-trump-presidential-ballot-election-insurrection/2023/12/28/id/1147546/
• https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/maine-trump-republicans/2023/12/29/id/1147614/
• https://www.newsmax.com/politics/susan-collins-maine-senator-donald-trump/2023/12/29/id/1147637/
• https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/newsomeopposes-barring-trump/2023/12/23/id/1147024/
• https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/alan-dershowitz-donald-trump-2024/2023/12/29/id/1147655/
• https://www.newsmax.com/politics/chris-christie-donald-trump-2024-election/2023/12/29/id/1147646/
• https://www.newsmax.com/politics/thomas-massie-gop-house/2023/12/29/id/1147642/

BLASPHEMY: A priest in Italy, having decided his flock needed to see a “more inclusive” Holy Family, removed Joseph and replaced him with a female draped in “pride” colors. The birth of Our Lord was a historical event, not a fairy tale that we can rewrite as we choose.

• https://www.dailywire.com/news/blasphemous-church-slammed-for-same-sex-nativity-scene

FIDUCIA SUPPLICANS: Cardinal Daniel Sturla, Archbishop of Montevideo, Uruguay, who has generally been regarded as a friend and ally of Pope Francis, announced he does not and will not bless homosexual couples. “If people come to ask me for my blessing, I always give it. … (but) it is a completely different thing to bless a homosexual couple.”

The Melkite Catholic Church in the United States has declared that priests may not bless couples in irregular situations unless they receive written permission from the bishop. Although the Melkite CC is in full communion with Rome, they have a separate liturgical rite and diocesan structure.

• https://catholicvote.org/uruguayan-cardinal-vatican-document-on-blessings-says-yes-and-no-at-the-same-time/
• https://catholicvote.org/us-melkite-bishop-priestscould-face-penalties-for-blessing-same-sex-couples-ithout-approval/

FLU JABS: A study entitled “Reduced effectiveness of repeat influenza vaccination: distinguishing among within-season waning, recent clinical infection, and subclinical infection” confirms something that has been known since the early 1970s. Namely, that people who get a flu shot every year are more likely to catch flu.

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10071822/
• https://www.theepochtimes.com/health/repeat-influenza-vaccination-linked-to-higher-risk-of-infection-cdc-preprint-5555230

LIFE LESSONS: CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/zsBf0IOPzMM. This happened to me once at a four-way stop. I was driving a 66-passenger school bus, fully loaded with elementary school children. I had the right of way, having arrived at the corner first. In fact, I had begun my turn when the car blew past the stop line by several feet, leaving me no room to complete my turn. Nobody was behind him, but when I waved at him to back up, he started honking his horn and cussing at me. I inched forward until he finally backed up, but not before giving my kiddos a beautiful display of how NOT to behave on a public roadway. When I got back to the bus garage, I asked my boss what he would have done. He said, “I would have waved hello and smiled sweetly, then turned around and chatted with the kids until he moved.” I never expected to learn valuable life lessons from driving a school bus, but I did. That was one of them.

NICARAGUA: The aggressively anti-Catholic Marxist dictator Daniel Ortega has arrested Bishop Isidro del Carmen Mora Ortega. His whereabouts are unknown.

• https://www.theblaze.com/news/nicaragua-arrests-another-bishop-as-marxist-regime-ramps-up-its-brutal-persecution-of-catholics
• https://omgbulletin.com/world/435511.html

NIGERIA: Between December 23 and 26, Muslim terrorists murdered at least 150 Nigerians in Christian villages and homes.

• https://catholicvote.org/muslim-terrorists-kill-150-christians-leading-up-to-christmas/

OH CANADA: In March 2019, “Morgane” Oger led an initiative to get Vancouver’s City Council to revoke its annual grant of $34,000 to Vancouver Rape Relief, the oldest women’s shelter in Canada, until it started allowing trans men to live there. For several months following the removal of funding, the shelter experienced multiple incidents of vandalism, including a deceased rat attached to the front door and graffiti saying “Kill TERFS, trans power.” At that time, Oger suggested that while the vandalism was unacceptable, the shelter may have contributed to such actions through its own behavior.

• https://thepostmillennial.com/trudeau-government-gives-medal-to-trans-activist-who-got-vancouver-rape-shelter-defunded-for-refusing-to-house-biological-men

GRAMMY NOTES: I am over the moon about my Christmas haul this year! In addition to getting a nice stockpile of good quality watercolor paper, I also scored two beautiful additions to my Madonna and Child collection.

SHORTS:

CLICK https://www.facebook.com/reel/1557040674833178 and watch her feet!

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ycFEInfHiHc and maybe grab a tissue. ❤

CALIFORNICATION: Starting on January 1, California stores with more than 500 employees will be fined $500 if they don’t include a gender-neutral toy section for kids 12 years old and under. Greg Burt, Vice President of the California Family Research Council — a conservative public policy nonprofit group — says the law violates the First Amendment by “dictating the signage in stores, about what words can be used to advertise products.”

• https://www.foxnews.com/politics/california-fine-stores-dont-have-gender-neutral-kids-toy-section-2024

CRAZY COO-COO LAND: Harvard’s Arab Alumni Association has published an appeal for donations to help pro-Hamas students who “hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.” Apparently, they are being bullied.

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/hamas-defending-harvard-students-beg-for-donations-for-mental-health/ss-AA1ilBR9

DEMOCRATS: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Americans are still moving from deep blue states to deep red states. In 2023, New York State lost the most residents (101,984) followed by California (75,423). Texas added the most residents (473,453), followed by Florida (365,205).

• https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2023/population-trends-return-to-pre-pandemic-norms.html

MIDDLE EAST: CLICK https://www.facebook.com/reel/247116964767703 and https://www.facebook.com/reel/6568574023253927 for some quick reality checks. Not that you, my oh-so-sensible readers, need them! 🙂

ODD ONE OUT: This paper was in a 6 year old’s homework packet. Her mom posted it to a mom’s Facebook board and, within a day, had received 4,000 responses from different moms. Each one had their own explanation for what the right answer was, but there wasn’t any one that stood out. The teacher later admitted she hadn’t done a great job of formulating the question.

I thought it was fun to think of as many reasons as I could why each word could be the odd one out. “Friend” is the only one that describes a living being; it is also the only one that isn’t spelled phonetically. “Desk” is the only piece of furniture. “Toothbrush” is the longest word, the only word with only one meaning, the only word with two syllables, and the only object related to hygiene. “Egg” is the shortest word and the only food.

The teacher’s choice was “silver” because it is the only color. Apparently, their lesson that day had been about objects. But “silver” also has the most meanings listed in the dictionary – 19 vs. 1, 3, and 5 for the others. These ended up making “silver” the odd one by virtue of having the most reasons why it was the odd one. It is the only one that is an element on the periodic table; is used for currency, jewelry, and food service; is rewarded to athletes who come in second; symbolizes a 25^th anniversary.

UPDATE: Mama Buzz says, “Also, toothbrush is the only compound word ;)”

GRAMMY NOTES: CLICK https://drive.google.com/file/d/1A-IDCmbUh3AaSX2F8fboMjtml3cHXDrP/view [4:39] to see a movie I made years ago called “Gecko Fantasies.” It stars Mama’s Leopard Gecko, Jasper.

SHORTS:

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/y1U4VwzhXB8 for a R*CKST*R Christmas carol.

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/onB61fwAEDU for “Bad Designs: Christmas edition.”

2023 CHRISTMAS GREETINGS: CLICK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7CydCqB3z4 [1:10] for Donald Trump’s beautiful message.

BLOWBACK: CLICK https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1739764132029833371 to see a Delta employee handle a trans jerk.

CALIFORNICATION: In 2003, Gov. Newsom took office with a 10-year plan to end homelessness. The only population Newsom has managed to reduce are the middle and upper class taxpayers who have fled the state.

• https://bongino.com/gavin-newsoms-ten-year-plan-to-end-homelessness-turns-twenty

CHICAGO: Democrat hypocrisy is on display again. Just last May, Mayor Johnson declared, “Chicago is a sanctuary city. As such, we must always resist attempts to pit communities against each other and extend this sanctuary promise to everyone who needs it in our city – both long-time residents and newcomers alike.”

CLICK https://twitter.com/DogRightGirl/status/1737152467350024336 [:48] to hear what he’s saying now.

• https://chicagocitywire.com/stories/642227109-johnson-chicago-is-a-sanctuary-city
• https://www.zerohedge.com/political/cry-victim-chicago-mayor-rages-over-buses-immigrants-texas

NEW YUCK: On Sunday, Mayor Eric Adams said the Rotten Apple is “the greatest city on the globe” because it “is a place where every day you wake up, you could experience everything from a plane crashing into our Trade Center to a person who’s celebrating a new business that’s open.”

• https://bongino.com/nyc-mayor-adams-bizarre-9-11-answer

PERSONALITY DISORDERS: There are ten specific personality disorders identified in DSM-5 which each fall into one of three clusters.

• Cluster A: The “odd, eccentric” personality disorders include Paranoid, Schizoid, and Schizotypal Personality Disorders.
• Cluster B: The “dramatic, emotional, erratic” personality disorders include Borderline Personality Disorder, Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Histrionic Personality Disorder, and Antisocial Personality Disorder.
• Cluster C: The “anxious, fearful” personality disorders include Avoidant, Dependent, and Obsessive-Compulsive.

Christopher F. Rufo has an interesting article @ https://www.city-journal.org/article/the-cluster-b-society in which he explains how “Cluster B psychological traits have begun to shape the patterns and structures of our culture.”

• https://www.mentalhelp.net/personality-disorders/cluster-a/
• https://www.mentalhelp.net/personality-disorders/cluster-b/
• https://www.mentalhelp.net/personality-disorders/cluster-c/

VFAUXTUS: CLICK https://rumble.com/v42kcnl-vp-harris-this-is-the-most-election-of-our-lifetime.html [:32] to hear Kamala say “This is the most election of our lifetime” followed by how privileged she has been as Vice President to meet “people of every age … and gender, by the way … who see something about being the first that lets them know they don’t need to be limited by other people’s limited understanding of who can do what.” I think I killed off a few brain cells transcribing that.

• https://bongino.com/vp-harris-this-is-the-most-election-of-our-lifetime

TRANS: A study entitled “Performance of non-binary athletes in mass-participation running events” was published this week in BMJ. In it, researchers report the results of their comparison of running race times with reference to age and natal-sex differences. In a giant case of “DUH”, they reported that male trannies almost always outperform real women. They also noted that male trannies usually lose when competing against real men.

• https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/9/4/e001662

GRAMMY NOTES: From Mama Buzz – “I have had this laundry basket since I was in 4th grade! None of my other ones have been made as well today I noticed a hairline fracture. Not sure how long it’s been there and so far there is no indication it goes all the way through. Who knew when I picked it out all those years ago that when I was 42, I would be feeling sentimental about how amazing a laundry basket it is! Now I’m thinking about all the laundry we’ve been through together, lol! Ok, moment is past. Time to put new clothes in the wash and go eat some lasagna while we play one of our new games! Xoxoxoxoxo.”

SHORTS:

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/k7F5kjemD80 for a sweet moment.

Usually, she only sets up some of them. But this year, for the 800^th anniversary of the very first nativity scene, Mama Buzz got out almost all of them! Here are some of my favorites.

CATHOLIC: “[The] individualism and materialism that [are] killing the church in Europe and some parts of the USA … will not be revived by syncretism which means diluting the uniqueness of the Gospel in an attempt to make it more easily acceptable. … Anybody who champions a teaching that contradicts the word of God is championing a heresy which should not be obeyed.” – Bishop Martin Anwel Mtumbuka, Roman Catholic Diocese of Karonga, Malawi. The diocese was erected by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010 and he appointed Bishop Mtumbuka as its first bishop.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Anwel_Mtumbuka
• Text taken from transcript of speech @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMhWlgQl6AI

COLORADO: In response to the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to bar Trump from the state primary ballot, the Colorado Republican Party has decided that, if the decision is not reversed, they will switch from a primary to a caucus. In a primary, registered voters decide who they want to be the party’s nominee in the general election. In a caucus, registered members gather and vote on who will be the party’s nominee. Opting for a caucus would allow GOP members to choose the former president for the 2024 race.

• https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/colorado-republican-party-to-change-to-caucus-system-ditch-primary-if-trump-kept-off-ballot-5550307

EDIBLE BOOK TITLES: Lord of the Onion Rings. Frog and Toad in the Hole. Hogshead Revisited. Moby Spotted Dick. An ox tail of two city chickens. Sticky willy wonka and the chocolate eclair factory. The Count of Monte Crisco. Call of the Wild Rice.

INDIANA: Last month, Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame announced they would be allowing trannies to enroll in the traditionally all-female institution. After the bishop and a lot of other people objected, pointing out that it went against Catholic teachings, the school reversed its decision.

• https://www.foxnews.com/us/catholic-womens-college-indiana-reverses-policy-change-allowing-applicants-identify-women

MIDDLE EAST: CLICK https://www.facebook.com/reel/348724041117718 for an excellent history lesson slash reality check from Bill Maher.

PENNSYLVANIA: Student fees covered the approximately $40,000 Dylan Mulvaney received for appeared on stage at Penn State University on December 5, 2023 for “A Conversation with Dylan Mulvaney.” Despite the fact that admission was free for students, the hall was mostly empty.

• https://www.theblaze.com/news/transgender-influencer-dylan-mulvaney-speaks-in-largely-empty-hall-for-free-lecture-at-penn-state-it-feels-fun-to-be-sexy
• https://www.psucollegian.com/culture_lifestyle/penn-state-s-student-programming-association-presents-a-conversation-with-dylan-mulvaney/article_bee0f234-9450-11ee-9128-238510b9665c.html
• https://townhall.com/tipsheet/madelineleesman/2023/12/11/penn-state-dylan-mulvaney-n2632240

PREDATOR: CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ILm0rlhLxHk to hear Nick Freitas respond to a recent TikTok video by Jeffrey Marsh. Also CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/acD79a41lIc to hear a PR person explain why she tosses out resumes that have pronouns listed.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Marsh

WEST VIRGINIA: A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit trying to remove Trump from the state’s ballot. However, the ruling was not based on the merits, but on the fact that John Anthony Castro lacked standing. Trump’s lawyers noted that Castro had demonstrated no political activity in the state aside from filing the lawsuit. The judge agreed, writing that his purported campaign was clearly just “a vehicle for pursuing litigation, not votes.”

• https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/federal-judge-rejects-lawsuit-to-remove-trump-from-ballot-in-another-state-5551742

GRAMMY NOTES: This year, we had the shortest Advent possible. On Christmas Eve, the Mascots got into their Christmas jammies, lit the fourth Sunday of Advent candle and the Christmas Eve candle, sang “Happy birthday!” to Jesus, opened one gift each, and got put to bed. ❤

SHORTS:

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HeB0vk8Q-vk to learn how to make your wife glow!

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SF7n_blVbw [4:25] to hear Fr. Mark Goring give his first impression, which was very positive. Then CLICK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncf3nLo_EYo [7:22] to hear his follow up response to people who were scandalized. Overall, his position is similar to Horn’s. I, however, find his praise for Pope Francis’ alleged love for “all” hard to swallow, given how often the man has gone out of his way to ridicule, condemn, and even persecute Catholics who disagree with him on issues such as large families, the Latin Mass, the COVID jab, and climate change.

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZnL2WKPbGo&t=7s [20:16] to hear Catholic apologist Trent Horn’s take on the document. As usual, Horn is careful, thoughtful, and orthodox. CLICK https://catholicvote.org/bishop-of-erie-issues-clarification-fiducia-supplicans/ to read the statement by the Bishop of Erie, Pennsylvania and/or https://kcsjcatholic.org/2023/12/statement-of-guidance-for-fiducia-supplicans-on-the-pastoral-meaning-of-blessings/ to read the Bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph. Both are similar to what the USCCB, Trent Horn, and Father Mark said.

On the other side of the spectrum are church leaders like Archbishop Tomash Peta and Auxiliary Bishop Athanasius Schneider, both of Kazakhstan, who firmly contend that the new declaration is a “great deception”, and that its proposed blessings of same-sex couples “directly and seriously contradict Divine Revelation and the uninterrupted, bimillennial doctrine and practice of the Catholic Church.”

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy8dkAtSq6g [11:29] to hear John-Henry Newman report on bishops who have loudly condemned Fiducia Supplicans. A majority of bishops in Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, and Zambia have published statements indicating that blessings of “same-sex unions“ will not be permitted. The Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference — comprising the bishops of Botswana, South Africa, and Eswatini — advised clergy to follow “the suggestions offered by the declaration” until the conference offered further guidance on “how such a blessing may be requested and granted to avoid the confusion the document warns against.”

CLICK https://www.lifesitenews.com/analysis/full-list-where-do-bishops-stand-on-blessings-for-homosexual-couples/ to see Life Site News’ full list of bishops around the world who have come out strongly for or against.

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwO-6uKazrI [3:30] to hear Matt Fradd report on the document just released by the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), the text of which is posted @ https://www.skeparchy.org/wordpress/patriarch-sviatoslav-communique-on-the-reception-of-fiducia-supplicans-in-the-ugcc/. N.b., the UGCC is the largest of the non-Roman Catholic churches. While it is in full union with the Roman Catholic Church, it uses the Byzantine rather than the Latin rites.

The UGCC document declares that Fiducia Supplicans “applies exclusively to the Latin Church and has no legal force for the faithful of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. … According to the traditions of the Byzantine rite, the concept of ‘blessing‘ means approval, permission, or even a spiritual directive for a certain type of action, prayer or ascetic practice, including certain types of fasting and prayer. Obviously, the blessing of a priest always has an Evangelical and Catechetical dimension, and therefore can in no way contradict the teaching of the Catholic Church about the family as a faithful, indissoluble, and fruitful union of love between a man and a woman, which Our Lord Jesus Christ raised to the dignity of the Holy Sacrament of Matrimony. Pastoral prudence urges us to avoid ambiguous gestures, expressions and concepts that would distort or misrepresent God’s word and the teaching of the Church.”

• https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_ddf_doc_20231218_fiducia-supplicans_en.html
• https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/abp-vigano-bergoglios-approval-of-blessings-for-homosexual-couples-shows-he-is-a-servant-of-satan
• https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/african-bishops-v-fiducia-supplicans
• https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/prominent-canon-lawyer-fr-murray-excoriates-new-vatican-doc-endorsing-blessings-of-gay-couples/
• https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/diabolical-ambiguity-dutch-bishop-pleads-for-clarity-from-francis-regarding-homosexual-blessings/
• https://www.lifesitenews.com/analysis/full-list-where-do-bishops-stand-on-blessings-for-homosexual-couples/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_Greek_Catholic_Church

This is the 800th anniversary of the first Nativity scene. In 1223, St. Francis of Assisi set up the first nativity scene to help the faithful to better appreciate the story of Christ’s birth. The story goes that he set it up in a cave just outside Greccio, Italy, using a wax figure of the infant Jesus, costumed people playing the roles of Mary and Joseph, and a live donkey and ox that he had borrowed.

Nativity scenes are also called manger scenes. They are often modeled after the wooden stables and wooden hay troughs common in northern Europe. But in ancient Israel, animals were usually sheltered at night in caves. And they weren’t given hay at night, because they were put out to pasture every day. However, they did need water, so the manger in which Jesus was laid was what we would call a water trough. And it wasn’t made of wood; it was carved out of stone.

The only time a manger is mentioned in Jesus’ birth story is Luke 2:8-12, when an angel of the Lord appeared to some shepherds and told them the Messiah had been born. Bethlehem, being only 5 miles from Jerusalem, was famous for the unblemished lambs it provided to the Temple to be sacrifice for sins. To prevent newborn lambs from random injuries that would render them unfit for sacrifice, they would be wrapped in cloth and laid in a dry manger.

So the shepherds would have immediately understood the significance of the angel’s sign – “a baby wrapped in cloth and lying in a manger.” Jesus was also wrapped in cloth and laid in a stone box after he was crucified.

Stone water troughs were also placed outside, because animals need access to water 24/7. Thus, Baby Jesus’ manger gives us more to think about when pondering John 4:13: “Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

According to the Law of Moses, stone could not become impure; thus, stone vessels were common in Judea for ritual purposes. Likewise, “living water” (water drawn from a fresh, natural, flowing source, such as a spring) was deemed to be pure. Therefore, purification vessels were filled from sources of “living water” to maintain its purity until it was needed for the many cleansing rituals required by the Jewish religion. Remember how, when they ran out of wine at the Wedding at Cana, Jesus ordered the stone purification jars to be filled with water? Like the mangers, purification jars were carved from limestone that had formed when the area was an ocean floor and minerals containing dissolved calcium settled out of the water. Limestone often contains ancient fossils of corals and other sea creatures that lived hundreds of millions of years ago, tying it not only to water, but to the earliest eras of our planet’s history.

It also speaks to us of the strength we have available to us through our worship of Jesus, the Son of God. While limestone is relatively easy to carve, it is both hard enough to maintain its shape once it has been carved and also immensely strong, with a crushing strength more than 3 times that of concrete.

The image of Baby Jesus in a stone watering trough casts us forward not only to when Jesus turned water into wine at the Wedding at Cana, but further when He turned wine into His blood at the Last Supper, the very blood He would sacrifice the next day to save us all from eternal damnation. Hallelujah!

DECEMBER 25 UPDATE: A friend sent me this photo of one of her Nativity sets. I think it is my favorite one EVER!

• https://www.learnreligions.com/christmas-nativity-scene-saint-francis-assisi-124443
• https://drivethruhistoryadventures.com/stone-jars-ritual-washing-water-wine-miracle-cana/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limestone