One of my favorite parts of the holiday season is celebrating family traditions. Some people honor holiday traditions through activities, while others celebrate it through something as simple as the ornaments on their tree. No matter which way a ritual is brought about, it always serves as something that brings a group closer together, or in my family's case, it just reminds us of a funny moment from my childhood.

My family's favorite holiday tradition every year is our nativity scene. For as long as I can remember, my parents have had a Fontanini nativity set. Every year, certain relatives would give my brother and I each a new piece to add onto the set, so our collection grew larger as we got older. What began as a simple manger with just Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus has now evolved into an entire village that looks like it was taken straight from a story in the Bible.

One year, when my cousins came to our house for their annual December visit, my little cousin -- who was about five at the time -- decided he was going to play with the nativity set. Typical of any five year old, it did not take long before one of the pieces in the set had gone missing. This was not just any piece, however. It was the most important piece: baby Jesus. We figured Jesus would eventually turn up in my brother's room, so we didn't think any more about it until about a year later, when it was time to put the set out again. Since Jesus still had not come out of hiding, we bought another one identical to the first, and stuck him in the manger without a second thought. 

Now fast forward a few years and a couple of months. It turns out baby Jesus number one did, indeed, turn up in the house. So, now, my family was faced with a big decision for the upcoming holiday season. What do we do with two baby Jesuses? We had finally found our tried and true Jesus who had been there from the start, but we could not just kick out Jesus number two, after he had so graciously filled in during a time of great need. So, in true Ramsey family fashion, we did the unthinkable. We put both of the babies in the manger. Yes, that's right; we put twins in our nativity scene, but in our defense it seemed like the only fair thing to do.

Over the past few years, Jesus one and Jesus two have become a great conversation starter for anyone who visits our house during the holiday season. Although it seems a little unconventional, the twins in the manger have become a tradition in our family and anyone who knows us has probably heard the story of how Jesus number one got his twin brother.

This whole story just goes to show that all holiday traditions are worth celebrating, even if they are somewhat ridiculous. Plus, if one baby Jesus ever decides to take a vacation again, we will already have his replacement.