When a man and a woman get engaged, it means they’ve decided to marry one another. An engagement says they plan to marry each other. Before the wedding takes place, the woman or the man can freely decide not to get married. There are no laws that affect this decision. Today, the couple isn’t officially married until the wedding takes place. At that time, legal papers are signed to make it official.
In Bible times, an engagement was called a betrothal, and it was very different from engagements today. When a couple was betrothed, it meant marriage was a promise. Before the wedding even took place, they were called husband and wife, but they didn’t move into their home together until after the wedding. Joseph and Mary were betrothed when Mary found out she was going to miraculously have a baby. When Joseph found out Mary was pregnant, he decided to break their betrothal by divorcing Mary since the law allowed him to do that. There were also laws that would bring shame on Mary for having a baby before the wedding took place. Instead of reporting her for punishment, out of kindness, Joseph planned to keep the news of the divorce quiet.
Using popsicle sticks, colored paper, fabric, yarn, etc. make stick puppets of Mary, Gabriel, and Joseph. Put on a puppet show to tell the Christmas story so far. Each time a new character is introduced, continue creating the additional characters so you can have more shows as you learn more of the story.
