Christmas Eve Tradition

Baby in waiting, Charleston, SC  

Each year the newborn nursery nurses at Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital make sure there is one extra crib ready for a special guest. The manger in the nativity scene at the front of the hospital has been empty. According to tradition the nurses call Security to unlock the front door at midnight and they carry the baby out and lay Him in the manger.

Special thanks to all the healthcare workers, firemen/women, police officers, service workers etc. who work special holidays like this so the rest of us can celebrate.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Merry Christmas!

Midnight, Christmas Eve, Charleston, SC 

I admit I didn't take this picture. I was sleeping tucked away in a cabin on Lake Marion at midnight and my friend Leah Sparks stayed up late and did the honors.

Our hospital has a lovely nativity scene but the manger lays empty until Christmas eve. Baby Jesus waits in the nursery with the rest of the Christmas babies until midnight when the nursing staff escorts Him outside and lays Him in the manger. It is a sweet tradition.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Merry Christmas to all!

Baby in waiting, Charleston, S.C.

By the looks of the pictures flowing in to social media, people had a Merry Christmas! Not having any little ones around myself, I live vicariously through all the happy family shots shared on facebook. Keep them coming!

My son and I slipped out of town yesterday afternoon and had a peaceful Christmas in a lakeside cabin. We read, ate good food and went for a walk this morning. It was perfect. We were only away for twenty four hours but it felt like a mini vacation.

Today's picture is actually from yesterday but I can't resist sharing. The tradition at our hospital is that Baby Jesus is not placed in manger until midnight on Christmas Eve. He is delivered into the care of the nursery nurses, lays in a crib warm and snug. At midnight a nursery staff member calls security to unlock the front door and they carry Him out and lay Him in the manger. I always try to catch a picture of him in the nursery.

Merry Christmas everyone!

'Twas the night before Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas. Charleston, S.C.

The babies in the newborn nursery are in good company today. According to our hospital tradition Baby Jesus waits in the nursery crib until midnight when He is carried out and laid in the manger.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Baby in Waiting

Baby in waiting, Charleston, S.C.

If someone you know gives birth at Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital today their baby will be in good company. All week long people have been stopping at the hospital's information desk reporting that Baby Jesus is missing from the manger scene.

He isn't missing - he hasn't been born yet.

At midnight on Christmas Eve, one of the nurses in the Newborn Nursery will take him out of the crib he has been waiting in, call for Security to escort her out and gently lay Him in the manger. It is a sweet tradition that has been going on for as long as I remember. In the olden days the nuns used to do the honor but now it has been passed on to the experts in baby care.