Luke 2:7 - Christmas card of Mary & Jesus

A tired but glowing Mary coos to newborn baby Jesus while horses feed from the manger in which He will be laid. I love the European tradition of farm animals surrounding baby Jesus, but I have set this version in a stable, with horses. Busy Bethlehem, full of out-of-towners, might have had stables like this full of the mounts of the wealthy and fortunate. While they slept snugly inside the inns, the Holy family would probably have been bedding down with the animals that the wealthy had ridden to get there, rather than with cows and sheep. I like to imagine tiny, fragile, baby Jesus in the stable with these beautiful creatures. This Mary was inspired by pictures of modern Israeli and Palestinian women, and the stone manger was inspired by some archaeological evidence.