HADLEY — While Bethlehem in the Holy Land saw weather in the 70s over the weekend, members of the First Congregational Church in Hadley broke through snow and ice for its reenactment of the birth of Christ.

The church staged its Christmas pageant with actors and live animals on its front steps Sunday, drawing a crowd of some 75 people.

A narrator told the story while a donkey brayed and lambs bleated. A neighbor walking her dog stopped and watched.

Mary was “great with child” at the time, according to the biblical account, and with no room at the inn, she gave birth to Jesus in a manger.

Children from the congregation played all the roles, including Mary and Joseph, who traveled to Bethlehem so they could be counted for the census ordered by Roman emperor Caesar Augustus.

The pagean

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