When Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem to sign up for taxes, the town had a lot more action than just a stable. All of the trades that were alive and active in the community like Bethlehem would easily have been seen and heard and provided life to the community. 

This was just not just a country of shepherds. There were stonemasons and carpenters, fishers, roofers and makers of cooking utensils. Perhaps, metalsmith and certainly blacksmiths. 

​The Basilica of Santiago de Compostela tried to display the Nativity in the total context of Bethlehem. Even better, the beautifully crafted figures move and give a sense of the world going on in the Holy Land in the year 0. Fishers fish. Woodcutters cut wood. There's real action going on and when you walk around the entire miniature world, you get a sense of how it must have felt to live there at the time. 

Of course, there are the shepherds watching their sheeps and there's the wise man checking the skies, the assorted animals that live in the manger swing their heads and complain about losing sleep. So, in this great grey, somewhat foreboding Basilica is a small world of humanity living out their lives in what historically is one of the most important moments in history.

​Many Western Europeans grew up with a multi-generational Christmas holy family scene that was rolled out on to the mantelpiece in mid-December every year.

This varied from stick creatures made by the children to high quality porcelain. The main interest was in protecting them from indifferent cats, ignorant tennis balls, and over cooking by the fireplace below. They were a tradition, little else.

But some cities in Europe have quite a different understanding of the holy family display. As an example in Zaragoza, a major portion of the central town square is filled with every character, animal and tree that could possibly be included in the Nativity scene. They're all life-size.

​Walking around the 50 meter by 20 meter installation is an interesting experience as you feel you're peeking into history. The images avoid the soporific looks of the traditional Nativity with smiles and happy glances. The entire presentation has an upbeat feel that brings back some of the non-mercantile joy generations once had in Christmas. 

​There are many reasons to visit Zaragoza but if time permits at Christmas, visiting to see this life-size Nativity along with the market that springs up around it and the wonderful mix of architecture, modern and vintage that surround it, is really worth the effort.

We have been coming back to Hanoi for years now but this is the first time we have seen this type of Ceramics.

Said to have travelled along the silk road to some of the finest homes in many countries all over the world, these ceramics  now reside in 46 museums of 32 countries and territories.

​​These ceramics as the name suggests originated in the village of Chu Dau in the province of Hai Duong in Vietnam around the 13th century under the Tran dynasty.

But it was only in the 14th to the 17th centuries when the ceramics gained prominence. Unhappily, the civil war between the Trinh and Mac dynasties stopped the production of these well appreciated treasures.

The Chu Dau ceramics were of 3 types: those for the ordinary people, ones for high ranking officials and the ones for royalty. 

Interest in these ceramics came back when in 1980, Mr. Makoto Anabuki, First Secretary in the Japanese Embassy asked if he could find out more about the antique ceramic vase, Hoa Lam-Blue Flower, he saw exhibited in the Topkapi Saray Museum in Istanbul. This vase was autographed by the artist, Bui Thi Hy. This started the research into this antique ceramic.

​Excavations were undertaken in the northern Vietnamese village of Chu Dau and they found thousands of ceramics  and old kilns signifying that this place was engaged in pottery long before it was a busy trading hub.

​The ceramics in spite of having been buried for long, still retained its distinctive colour and design. So, today studies are made in view of bringing back the authentic patterns, materials and ornaments used by the early potters.

My husband and I just happened to see the display in Hanoi, 2 Le Thai To, of Chu Dau ceramics. We were on our Sunday walk looking for a coffee place when the display caught our attention. Intrigued, we went in the store and got out with this, a memento of something we've come to appreciate. 

Today, the village of Chu Dau can be visited from Hanoi. A day tour will take you to the village where you can see the old kilns and the excavated site. 

If you love pottery, here's another popular village for this craft in Vietnam:

• ​Bat Trang: Pottery Village in Vietnam

Come to rural Asia and running on the road under your wheels in full play with village children is the historic chicken that we knew in North America at the turn of the 20th. Entury.

They are not pretty. They're of the small size. They are the ultimate definition of free range if you can call village housing a range. But, they have a unique advantage. They actually have taste. They are the living memory of why many great culinary dishes of the 19th century had chicken at their core. What they lack in size, they make up for in a gusto of flavour that can make a soup or dumplings a living walk down your great grandmas cookbook.

Below is Speedy Recipe's youtube video of Tinolang Manok, Chicken, a traditional Filipino Chicken Soup recipe.

Working a team pulling logs or a plow or a wagon was tough dangerous work. Preparing food from absolute scratch everyday was a total commitment.

Almost any household chore with no electricity was consummately demanding but people had a relationship with the animals and the trees and crops and rivers with whom they shared their lives. There was no race through life to an old people’s home. 

There was a family that started working as soon as they could walk and cared for their old folks until they cross the rainbow bridge.

Each generation had to find tasks and were respected for contributing within those expectations. So, a rural vacation is not only a chance to participate in some of the old farming chores but a chance to put yourself into the history you’ve grown from.