t
he creation of my
own family’s
Christmas tradition
was a happy
accident rather
than a planned event, much
like the birth of two of my
three children. It began four
years ago when my wife and
I happened upon a strikingly
beautiful 11-piece terra-cotta
Nativity scene that was made
in Bangladesh. Until then, we
had never owned one.
I don’t even recall the
store where we found the
crèche. All I remember is
that it followed fair trade
practices, which guarantee
that businesses buy items
from Third World markets at
prices that afford the makers
a reasonable living. As we
decorated for the holidays
that year, it found a nice
perch on a bookshelf in the
living room.
The next year, on a family
vacation to Nova Scotia, we
stumbled across a cut metal
Nativity scene in a tiny art
gallery next to a ferry
landing. It was handmade in
A Return to Meaning
BHG Editor Christian Millman stumbles upon a holiday tradition
for his family-then finds that many others have also sought to
recapture the spirit of the season in simple yet profound ways.
by CHRISTIAN MILLMAN photos KATHRYN GAMBLE
produced by MEREDITH LADIK and JEAN NORMAN
BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS DECEMBER 2009
231
