'Good tidings of great joy'

A nearly life-size crèche representing the first Christmas in Bethlehem is displayed in the outpatient lobby at St. John Medical Center in Westlake. The traditional scene contains Mary, Joseph and the Three Wise Men – Melchior, a Persian scholar; Caspar, an Indian scholar; and Balthazar, a Babylonian scholar – bringing their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. A shepherd boy, with a lamb around his shoulders, and an angel who visited the shepherds bringing them “good tidings of great joy,” announcing the birth of Jesus, complete the nativity scene.

The newborn baby Jesus will be placed in the manger on Christmas Eve.