Abstract

Herbert, Dilinie Christmas is a special time in the Christian calendar. The Christmas story begins with a heavily pregnant Mary riding on the back of a donkey alongside her husband into the city of Bethlehem. Their search for board to see them till the morning is futile. A somewhat kind Inn keeper shows them to his stable, where the animals are accommodated.. That night Mary gives birth to baby Jesus and she lays the newborn down in a manger. The Inn is symbolic of prosperity for those fortunate to share in its comforts. To have to reside instead in the stable reflects that there is not space in the Inn and some people, for not immediately apparent reasons, live on the outside.