My favorite part of Christmas decorating is putting up the various Nativity scenes I have collected over the years. Some I purchased as a whole set, some I received piecemeal as gifts, and others I made. But they all have one thing in common—each one contains a turtle.

Now I know most of you are re-reading that last sentence and thinking, “What?! There was no turtle at the birth of Christ!” And you’d be right—maybe. For the record, there ARE turtles and tortoises native to Israel, so it is possible that there might have been one or two around during the Nativity. But it is equally true that there is no actual record of them at the manger.
Come to think of it—there isn’t really much of a record of who was at the manger. Consider a Nativity scene, any Nativity scene, and you will come up with a pretty stable (lol!) cast of characters. There will be baby Jesus of course, and Mary–the two we know for sure were there. Then there’s Joseph—he’s a good bet, too. Shepherds? Yes, scripture describes them coming from the hills outside Bethlehem to “see this thing which has come to pass” (Luke 2:15).

After that, though, things get a little murkier. What about the angels? Scripture says they came to the shepherds in the field, but then they went away. They were never at the manger, but most Nativity scenes show at least one angel (hardly the “multitude of the heavenly host” described in Luke!) And then there are the kings (or wise men, or magi, depending on what you call them). They don’t even appear in Luke’s gospel, but show up in Matthew, arriving well after the birth and perhaps up to 2 years later! Not to mention that there are usually 3 figures in our Nativity scenes, despite the fact that scripture only says they brought 3 gifts, not how many people it took to bring them.

Then there are the animals. Donkey? Most of us mentally picture the very pregnant Mary riding on one, but scripture doesn’t mention a donkey at all. Sheep? I suppose the shepherds could have brought their flock with them, so they are more likely. Cows? Goats? Some animals probably ate out of the manger, even though they are also not directly mentioned. Camels? Same issue as with the kings.

It’s pretty clear that our Nativity scenes are, at best, a mishmash of scripture and story. They are designed less to reflect fact than to demonstrate faith—faith in a child whose miraculous birth changed the world. Angels, kings, camels, and donkeys might not have been in Bethlehem that night, but that doesn’t mean his birth didn’t touch them all. So why not a turtle? Maybe one ambled slowly by and stopped to wonder, unseen and unnoted, but nevertheless a witness. Not unlike us, who were also not there that night, but who still stop and gaze in wonder.