Baby Cheeses? Where Are You??

There are few people on this Earth who know less about religion than I do, and what a gift that has been to me. To live one's life in both ignorance and bliss is a blessing which only atheists and born-again Christians can enjoy.

Welcome to my world!

When I was six or seven, my parents thought I needed some religion in my life, so they took me to church. I can't think of any way to phrase this eloquently so let me just blurt it out...church sucked, for me. It sucked big-time. In fact, I hated going, plus the seating was atrocious. The minister never spoke about hockey, men's or women's, or anything that was remotely of interest to me.

Yesterday I was visiting the home of two note-worthy musical friends. To protect their identity, I will only refer to them as PT and RK. There will be no mention that they live in Toronto's Annex neighbourhood or that their garden looks magnificent. PT is the son of a Lutheran minister and undoubtedly the liturgical mastermind behind what you see in today's image. RK, I suspect, is responsible for many of the secular references, the most glaring of which has to be the Connell House (Woodstock, NB) ornament. "Why Connell House", I asked RK. "Why not?", he replied.

So, what do I know about manger scenes? Not much. I do know that baby Jesus is scheduled to arrive on Christmas Day, and that the crèche currently sits empty in PT and RK's manger scene. You do have to wonder, though, what Baby Jesus might look like in a manger scene that features lobster claw salt n' peppa shakers, and Homer Simpson! The simple answer is that baby Jesus doesn't arrive on Christmas Day, but....

Baby Cheeses does! I kid you not. On Christmas Day a small selection of miniature Babybel cheeses are placed in the crèche! It's a fun and delicious way to celebrate a Christmas tradition. As outrageous as that may seem, it's Joseph that really gets me laughing. Joseph, in this manger scene, is a red-faced Mexican salt/pepper shaker who wears a giant sombrero. I was told that he was red-faced because he was embarrassed...he knew that he wasn't the dad. Pure genius.

This manger scene teaches people like me a bit about Christian heritage. So, what do you think....blasphemy, or goodphermy? I say it's good for me.