Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think someone should have got Mary a chair and some toast?

89 replies

divineinspirations · 06/12/2024 03:13

Watching my first school nativity I couldn't believe poor Mary had to stand up the whole time and be polite to all the shepherds and wise men that kept turning up.
If there was no room for a bed surely someone could have got her a chair at least? And there must be a Judaean equivalent of postnatal tea and toast?

OP posts:
Pussycat22 · 06/12/2024 09:07

Latenightreader nah they sent em back. Free returns!

Pussycat22 · 06/12/2024 09:05

divineinspirations, yeah , no moaning and groaning !!!!

AnAlpacaForChristmasPleaseSanta · 06/12/2024 09:03

stepmad · 06/12/2024 06:48

Just how wise were the the three wise men as they went to the wrong place to begin with and look at the trouble that caused

Bet they blamed the star sat-nav. Probably the earliest example of how troublesome they would later prove to be.

x2boys · 06/12/2024 09:02

Globules · 06/12/2024 05:39

I'm not sure I'd have trusted any furniture in that stable.

It would all likely be caked up with wee and poo having sat with the animals.

But then would you have really have laid a newborn in a manger ,that cattle etc are eating out of🤔

PandaChopChop · 06/12/2024 08:58

divineinspirations · 06/12/2024 03:50

😂 ahhh. Like the NCT said it would be if I just relaxed and kept the room dim. Mary really is an inspiration to us all.

Show quote history

🤣🤣🤣🤣

CyranoDeBergerQuack · 06/12/2024 08:54

Globules · 06/12/2024 08:03

Those gifts probably arrived around Jesus' first birthday, as it took about that long for the wise men to travel. Well past post natal time.

Edited
Show quote history

Bloody Avanti West Coast!

CyranoDeBergerQuack · 06/12/2024 08:52

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 06/12/2024 06:31

I'm surprised that Joseph, the shepherds, the magi et al, were in the stable at all. It would not be too far fatched (if it isn't already) for them to be in the inn, 'wetting the baby's head'. 🍺🍺🍺🍺

Well in my day, men were not allowed into the 'birthing chamber'; it was a ridiculous concept - men at the birth??? supporting their DW/DP...
Never!

ellebelli · 06/12/2024 08:51

89redballoons · 06/12/2024 06:08

It wasn't until I was heavily pregnant in December that I realised just how uncomfortable it must have been for Mary to ride to Bethlehem from Nazareth on a donkey. On a dusty road etc. So bumpy! Ouch ouch ouch.

I was pregnant with my second over christmas when my eldest (about 7 at the time) said in response to me saying I felt uncomfortable.."at least you don't have to ride on a donkey!"

CyranoDeBergerQuack · 06/12/2024 08:49

Garlicwest · 06/12/2024 03:47

I've always (well, rarely and briefly) hoped the Holey Bab came out as easily as he went in 😂 No huffing, puffing, sweating or other messy fluids, just a gentle unworldly breath. And magical crowns of light for all concerned.

if it came out holey, people would be worried! Medical journals would do well tho!
😊

UnaOfStormhold · 06/12/2024 08:44

The carol "I sing of a maiden" describes it as "He came so still in his mother's bower/ Like dew in April that falleth on the flower". Hmm. No, I'm struggling to relate that to having my son.

Beautiful carol though:

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCP5cRA42zo

Globules · 06/12/2024 08:03

XWKD · 06/12/2024 06:08

With all that gold, frankincense, and myrrh, surely she could have afforded top quality post-natal care.

Those gifts probably arrived around Jesus' first birthday, as it took about that long for the wise men to travel. Well past post natal time.

Original poster
divineinspirations · 06/12/2024 07:45

I am starting to become concerned that I may have sinned beyond redemption and/or possibly given birth to Satan’s child, based on my significantly less than comfortable pregnancy and childbirth experience. So I guess the Christmas story is still in action saving our souls.

OP posts:
SarahAndQuack · 06/12/2024 07:29

I research medieval childbirth (as you do), and medieval writers spent a ton of time imagining how Mary's labour went. There is a really adorable book that addresses the bumpy ride to Bethlehem, and very sweetly assures us that 'the Lord Jesus was not chargeaunt to his mother' (ie., he didn't weigh on her; the pregnancy wasn't a burden). Isn't that cute?

There's also a bit of theology that pain in childbirth comes from Eve's sin, and Mary (being sinless) could open her womb as easily and voluntarily as she might spread her fingers - so it wouldn't be painful.

(I love this extremely random stuff.)

ladycarlotta · 06/12/2024 07:28

Until the late medieval period, there was usually a midwife in the nativity scene. Plumping the pillows or getting Mary a drink or looking after the baby so she could have a rest. She's not mentioned in the Bible but I appreciate that in mediaeval thought, Mary must have needed someone knowledgeable and caring to help her.

Very annoyed we don't include her any more.

WoahThreeAces · 06/12/2024 07:13

Stopsnowing · 06/12/2024 05:08

“How silently how silently the wondrous gift is given” so an easy labour.

🤯

Londonrach1 · 06/12/2024 07:10

newname642 · 06/12/2024 06:03

On the plus side, no bed and no chair means that Mary probably wasn't hassled by a Bounty rep 'offering' to take photos of her with the newborn King (and the other three kings, and the shepherds and the angel Gabriel...)

She might have wanted photos. It's a one off event and everyone has traveled along way to be there. Took me two days to find the bounty rep to take photos. Got the most amazing photos of dd which are still up in frames at mine and both grandparents houses.

ISaySteadyOn · 06/12/2024 07:09

Also, if it was pain free, how did she know she was in labour at all? Did Michael or Gabriel invisibly whisper in her ear or something?

Isatis · 06/12/2024 07:06

I think Mary took it really well when the angel reacted to the annoying glittery tinsel round its neck by casting off its white gown. It may not be in the Bible, but we know it happened because it was in our school's nativity play.

Latenightreader · 06/12/2024 07:01

What did happen to the gold, frankincense and myrrh? Did they take them with on the flight to Egypt? Were they packing the donkey and complaining about the gifts being impractical?

110APiccadilly · 06/12/2024 06:56

I have heard that they were probably staying with extended family. And that the "stable" would have still been part of the living quarters of the family home. How reliable each of these is I don't know, I'm not an expert in living conditions in first century Israel. But if that's correct, then presumably there would have been family members on hand to help look after Mary - so hopefully she got whatever the equivalent of tea and toast was.

NewGreenDuck · 06/12/2024 06:49

According to early Christians, Mary was still virgo intacta after the birth. So it was clearly pain-free.

stepmad · 06/12/2024 06:48

Just how wise were the the three wise men as they went to the wrong place to begin with and look at the trouble that caused

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 06/12/2024 06:31

I'm surprised that Joseph, the shepherds, the magi et al, were in the stable at all. It would not be too far fatched (if it isn't already) for them to be in the inn, 'wetting the baby's head'. 🍺🍺🍺🍺

XWKD · 06/12/2024 06:08

With all that gold, frankincense, and myrrh, surely she could have afforded top quality post-natal care.

89redballoons · 06/12/2024 06:08

It wasn't until I was heavily pregnant in December that I realised just how uncomfortable it must have been for Mary to ride to Bethlehem from Nazareth on a donkey. On a dusty road etc. So bumpy! Ouch ouch ouch.

Swipe left for the next trending thread