Schoenstatt, Adoration Church: The door of the stable is still locked... Schönstatt, Anbetungskirche: noch ist der Stall von Bethlehem verschlossen...

While the busy shepherds are already on their way, the proven team is eagerly working... Während die eiligen Hirten schon auf dem Weg sind, ist das bewährte Krippenteam im Hintergrund an der Arbeit...

Each detail counts... Jedes Detail zählt...

Posters invite to participate in the "Ten minutes by the crib" Plakate laden zu den "Zehn Minuten an der Krippe" ein.

In the barn: tables and benches are arranged... In der Scheune werden Tische und Bänke aufgebaut.

One Man Decoration Team Ein-Mann-Dekorationsteam

Everything will be ready on December 26... Bis zum 26. Dezember ist hier alles fertig

Fotos: POS Fischer © 2002

SCHOENSTATT, mkf. Christmas is just around the corner – whether the Christmas gifts, cookies, cleanings… are ready or not! Shelter Seeking and Christmas novena began, and some shepherds are already on their way to the manger: In the Adoration Church on Mount Schoenstatt, already at the end of last week, the unswerving crib team began to work on the big crib scenery. On Monday, December 16, 2002, the barn by the Adoration Church got cleaned and decorated to again receive thousands of visitors of the "Ten minutes by the crib" for a warm-up with Christmas tea and cookies.

Monday, December 16, dawned (and ended) with the typical gray, cloudy, and wet weather that Germans against longstanding experience simply don't associate with Christmas. Nevertheless, Christmas preparations in Schoenstatt were in full swing.

From early in the morning, Sr. Anne-Meike Brück, a Schoenstatt mother and "the faithful husbands of Schoenstatt mothers" who already are part of the team were preparing the barn.

Schoenstatt Sisters, Schoenstatt mothers, professional women at several places in Germany sent cookies for the socializing part of the "Ten minutes by the crib".

With slight modifications in the texts and design, the essential idea of the "Ten minutes by the crib" has remained the same since the beginning in 1997: simple spiritual texts that everybody can identify with, involvement of children, traditional Christmas songs, and specially: the stars. The central text from 1997 became a program: "All may come to you, child in the crib…" – and they came, thousands and thousands, making the days after Christmas the most popular days of pilgrimage in Schoenstatt.

Each year a bit different: the crib scenery in the Adoration Church

For many of the children who come with their parents since 1997, it is their childhood Christmas: ringing bells, accompanying Christmas songs with tambourines, flutes, and other instruments that produce joyful noise, being angels, shepherds, and sheep, carrying Baby Jesus, waving colorful stars in the rhythm of "O come little children…" …and standing by the big crib scenery with the beautiful figures carved of lime-tree, and the scenery, decorated with much loving care: the small creek with real water, the draw- well complete with bucket, the flowers, stones, twigs… Each year, the arrangement is slightly different, giving reasons for the long-time visitors to test their memory and find out what changed. Most of the time the children a lot better than the grown-ups!

The Christmas trees are already in the Adoration Church, and the crib scenery is growing day by day, thanks to the work of Sr. Lucida and her team. The door of the stable is closed…waiting to open in the Holy Night, during the Holy Mass at Midnight, year for year a special attraction for people from Vallendar and around.

Praying with a ball point pen: the "magic" of the stars

Each year, the visitors – nobody asks for their degree of church attachment – are invited to write the names of loved ones on simple yellow paper stars. These stars can then be brought personally to the crib, or can be given to children who collect them in little baskets that from December 26 form part of the crib. Many of the visitors already when they come start to fill in the stars. It's praying with a ball-point-pen. Everybody knows persons who are suffering, everybody worries about a loved one, knows someone he can't reach at this moment, someone he's missing, someone who he would love to be close, to be home, to be safe, to be free, to be happy, to believe… The promise of the Schoenstatt Sisters to pray for all those whose names are on the stars is a special incentive. Some come several times during the Christmas time "just because of the stars". At several Schoenstatt Centers in Germany, and on December 8 also in Paraná, Entre Ríos, Argentina, the idea with the stars was copied. Another possibility was opened via Internet – those who want can write the names of their loved ones via e-mail to MY STAR AT THE CRIB - and since the beginning of advent, long lists of names came in from Argentina, Texas, Brazil… "I greet you again from Texas to request more stars...the list keeps growing every time I mention this beautiful celebration which will be held in Schoenstatt Germany," Celina García wrote. "I ask again that all persons who participate in the Schoenstatt Rosary Campaign be included especially those in Texas.  Maybe Texas needs one big star for all who belong to the Rosary Campaign because we have so many people…"

Singing by the Crib – also at the Schoenstatt Centers Liebfrauenhöhe, Nittenau, Waldstetten, Hildesheim…

In addition to the "Ten minutes by the crib", the Schoenstatt Mothers' League of the diocese of Trier offers day-long programs in Schoenstatt during the Christmas time, with talks, visit to several cribs in Schoenstatt, and a play performed by the children.

Similar activities as in Schoenstatt are also offered at different Schoenstatt Centers in Germany; at the Center in Waldstetten, a "Christmas benediction" is offered at December 26, at 3:00 PM. On December 29, "Christmas Caroling" will take place at the Center in Bad Salzdetfurth, on the same day and on January 5, people are invited to the Liebfrauenhöhe for Christmas caroling, and in the Schoenstatt Center of the Diocese of Regensburg, Nittenau, a bright shining star at the front of the Shrine invites all to visit the crib and join in the "Singing by the Crib" on January 5.

Those who want to send names to be written on stars and placed by the crib can write to: "My star by the crib"

The stars will be brought to the Original Shrine on December 24/25, to the Mass at Midnight in the Adoration Church, and then be placed by the crib in the Adoration Church.