FRIENDS OF THE CRECHE LOSE A TRUE "FRIEND" OF THE CRECHE!

It is with great sadness that I report to you the death of one of most colorful members, Wally Bronner. Wally passed away yesterday at age 81. He was a member of Friends of the Creche from the start and we are glad he was able to attend at least part of our last convention in Dublin last November. His commercial success regarding Christmas aside, I think Wally will be remembered for two things at least as Friends of the Creche are concerned. In the first place, Christ was always an important part of the Christmas experience at his huge store in Frankenmuth, Michigan. From the several large nativities on the property to the Silent Night Chapel also on the grounds, there is no way that Christ was being left out of this "Christmas" experience. In addition, Wally was always a person people. He had a knack for remembering people and names years after he had met them. Wally's signature red jacket will be missing in the future and Christmas has lost a true "friend."

Two Friends of the Creche Receive Medals at the World Crib Congress in Augsburg, Germany.

Augsburg, Germany. January 26, 2008.

Two members of our organization received medals last week at the World Crib Congress that took place in Augsburg, Germany. This meeting takes place every four years, the next being in Innsbruck Austria in 2012. This was the first time in the history of the Congress that medals were awarded to those who have or are contributing to the creche tradition. Mrs. Rita Bocher, the editor of the Creche Herald and Rev. Johann Roten of the Marian Library in Ohio were honored. The awards were selected from nominations submitted by each association. The Universalis Foederatio Praesepistica or Un Foe Prae for short is currently made up of eighteen associations including the newest association from Brazil. We would like to congratulate Rita and Fr. Roten for receiving this great honor and the honor it brings to Friends of the Creche.

A HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL FRIENDS OF THE CRECHE

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS TO ALL FRIENDS OF THE CRECHE!



To all of our members and all Friends of the Creche, best wishes for

a joyous and blessed Christmas.



Though we celebrate Christmas everyday by the very nature of our society,

Christmas holds a special meaning for us. The rest of the world joins us

during this season when the birth of Christ is remembered by all manner

of customs and traditions.



To all those visitors who may be visiting our web site for the first time

during this Christmas season, a special invitation to share in the peace

and love of Christ's birth all year long as well, by becoming a member

of our organization. We would love to have you help us promote the creche

tradition into the new year and for years to come. Look over the site

and there is an application form found under membership.

New Board Member and Thank you to Fr. Tim

We would like to welcome Mr. Peter Frein of Princeton, New Jersey who is our newest board member. Peter will fill Rev. Tim Goldrick's spot. Fr. Tim recently resigned but hopes to stay involved with Friends of the Creche as time permits. Fr. Tim hosted us in Cape Cod in 2003 and was our MC in Santa Fe in 2005. We owe much to Tim for his years of service on the board including the Crib Sheet and those great blogs on the web site.

Friends of the Creche annual meeting in 2008

Mark your calendars. We are pleased to announce that our recent award winner, Betsy Christensen will host our one- day meeting on Nov. 8, 2008 in Ann Arbor Michigan. We will tell you more about it in the months ahead and some things to do on your way to/from Ann Arbor.

Memories of "Heartland Cradlesong"

"Heartland Cradlesong" in Dublin, Ohio is now complete. Over two hundred people from all over the country gathered near Columbus to share their love of the nativity. We were treated to many talks ranging from the herbs of Christmas to the theology behind most Christmas carols.
We shopped at over thirty vendors, sat in amazement at a beautiful musical evening and once again met with old friends. In the weeks ahead, we will be adding to this web page and Crib Sheet more details of all that happend. Stay tuned.

New board member on board!

We welcome Barbara Beckwith of Cincinnati, Ohio who has agreed to join the Board of Directors of Friends of the Creche. Barbara is the managing editor, of the St. Anthony Messenger magazine and will bring some fresh insight into our organization. She will especially help us with getting the word out about this great organization.

On a sad note, I must report to you the passing of a former board member, Gary Grabowski of Pittsburgh, PA. Gary resigned in the summer due to continued ill health. I am sure all of you will join us in keeping Gary and his family in your prayers.


Mike Whalen

Dublin Bound (Heading for the Emerald City)

I know that Dublin Ohio is not really the Emerald City but the excitement building about finally getting there for our fourth convention is nearly the same as arriving in Oz. Heartland Cradlesong with its music and food theme and most especially with its underlying celtic connection will really display those thirty shades of green found in the convention logo. There will be much green shelled out for those nativities that one must have at the manger mart that probably will put many of us a little over budget. There will be many green with envy that they they did not submit the highest bid and consequently lost the auction or did not have their raffle ticket pulled from the jar. The herbs of Christmas will no doubt display some new shades of green other than the normal evergreen or holly one associates with stable scenes and Christmas. I suspect there will be many creches displayed in the Members' Manger Museum using green technology, in other words, made from recycled materials including coal dust, used auto parts and so forth.

I also would like to extend a special word of welcome to our first time convention participants or let's say, "those a little green" because you will find a lot of friends there and will ripen overnight.

For those members of Friends of the Creche who are not able to join us in Dublin for one reason or another, you will be missed, but rest assured that we will do our best via photos and the final issue of the Crib Sheet for 2007 to share with you all the events.

Mike Whalen

Update: Heartland Cradlesong 2007

The Irish cultural heritage of Dublin will be center stage the first weekend in August. Almost 100,00 people attend the Irish Festival in Dublin, Ohio, now the second or third largest in the country, featuring Irish history, dogs, food, arts, and vendors of everything conceivable that has an Irish connection from Celtic harps to clothing, tea from Ireland to ceramics and crystal. Even Fighting Irish gear is available for Notre Dame aficionados. Although our town’s only real historic tie to the old country is the surveyor who laid out the town ca 1817, the entire focus is on Irish culture. As on St. Patrick’s Day everyone in Dublin and at the festival becomes Irish. The crèche tradition in Ireland will be part of the Heartland Celebration at the 2007 convention here in Dublin.

Also to be featured at this year’s convention is the role of ancillary figures. The robin has been part an important Christmas symbol in the British Isles for centuries. In an exhibit of the history of the Christmas card at the Victoria and Albert museum at Christmas, 1990, our 10 year old daughter and we were entranced with the concept that the first commercially available cards in London featured the robin.

The Legend of the Robin or How the Robin Got its Red Breast

We all know that the night the Christchild was born, the winds howled and snow lay deep on the hillsides surrounding Bethlehem. The animals in the stable gave Him straw to lie on and wool for a blanket. However, the air remained frigid. St Joseph tried desperately to keep a fire lit to warm the newborn infant and his mother. The task seemed impossible. Just as a flame would flicker into life, a gust of wind would put it out. The robin sitting on her perch in the stable rafters watched in dismay. Realizing the desperation in St. Joseph, she flew down over the glowing coals and began to fan them with her wings as she hovered over the embers. In her zeal to beat the fire to life, she flew ever closer to the heat source. Disregarding her own comfort and safety, she used her wings as a bellows, providing the necessary fanning of the embers until they burst into flames.. In the meantime, her own breast was scorched by the heat and her normally brown breast had burned to scarlet. God the Father declared that forever more, the robin should be marked with a redbreast so that all the world would recognize her sacrificial service to the Infant Jesus at His birth.

The European robin, related to the wren, is smaller than the American robin. The breast is tomato red rather than the buff orange breast of our much larger robins. This past week as I wandered into our living room, my eyes fell on one of my favorite recent additions to our collection. It ties into our convention theme in several ways, not the least is having been made in County Kerry and found in Adare, Ireland last autumn... To my delight, perched on the roof of the stable are tiny robin redbreasts. (Come to hear Father Roten speak on Ancillary figures and see the Marian Library exhibit of them.)

This past week on a shopping visit to Ha’Penny Bridge in Dublin, we spoke to Al Gleine. He told us of his excitement in locating many Nativities to offer at the Manger Mart on their January trip to Ireland. Ann Gleine will speak to us on the Irish celebration of Christmas in November.