"Only in Willow," a Nativity defines the season

"Only in Willow" was a phrase I heard a lot growing up, a reference to the wonderful strangeness of my hometown, a place where citizens flock to the Talent (or Not) Show and the ATM thieves are persistent, if not successful. It stands to reason, then, that Christmas should be quite an affair. Nowhere was it more evident than at the Willow United Methodist Church's live Nativity scene.

Just think of this scene:

It is Dec. 15, and a sheep, goat and a few dozen locals are gathered in the entryway of the church, disguised by rough-hewn wood and a bale or two of straw. From afar, the scene seems nearly identical to the traditional depiction of the first Christmas. Close up, however, it is easy to spot the details that make it a "Willow Original."

Mary sits serenely on a folding chair, while shepherds and wise men mill nearby, some wearing beards made of cotton batting or mops. One wise man seems particularly well traveled, wearing a Japanese kimono and a Peruvian-styled poncho. Above the manger, an angel perches precariously on a chair, her silver-tinsel halo tilted to one side. The Baby Jesus, resting placidly in the manger doesn't seem to mind as a sheep munches on his bedding. Meanwhile, one of the shepherds dodges an oncoming goat, who is intent on getting to the bale of hay the shepherd has sat on.

"Someone's coming! Look holy," someone shouts and I can't help but smile. Somehow, this goofy reenactment seems a more true depiction of the Christmas story than is illustrated on the cards that arrive in our mailbox every year. It could have been a night just like this one -- a regular family from out of town, spending a cold winter's night in a shabby barn, staying close to the animals to keep warm. Maybe it's just the Willow in me, but I can't help wondering whether one of the Wise Men might have stepped in a cow patty on his way to present his gift, or whether a big, gentle sheep might have tugged hay to munch from beneath the baby. In moments like these, I get the feeling that God is standing next to me, grinning at the sight and nudging me to look at the Wise Man's spa robe, or Joseph's towel-and-necktie headdress, and whispering in my ear that this is what it was really like -- a bunch of "regular people" who got to be there when something awesome happened.

As I trudged back inside for a cup of hot chocolate, I overheard a shepherd wonder aloud whether wise men wore braces, and I smiled at God again. Only in Willow.