Many kids are excited about seeing Santa Claus during the Christmas season — while others become overwhelmed with happiness at the sight of “The Elf on the Shelf.”
For two-year-old Emilia Wadgymar, the real stars of the season are the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus.
“We went to a place [where] a Christmas village train was set up,” the child’s mother, Tamara Wadgymar of Woodlands, Texas, told Fox News Digital.
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“They changed the nativity this year to be really big. Emilia didn’t even notice the Santa train. She started yelling, ‘Mary! Mary!’ and I started recording.’”
The adorable video of little Emilia greeting the figures depicted in the nativity was posted on Wadgymar’s Instagram, where it’s been “liked” more than 300,000 times and viewed by millions of people.
Emilia Wadgymar, age 2, is a toddler who has gained viral attention on social media for showing her love for Mary and Jesus. (Tamara Wadgymar)
In the video, Emilia Wadgymar, who is bilingual, says, “Mary! Mary! Hello Virgin Mary. Hello, baby. Hello, Virgin Mary.”
She kisses the cardboard cutout of Baby Jesus and then says, “I’m going to give her [Mary] a hug.”
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The little girl poses for photos with the cutout of Mary and says, “Cheese! Now with the baby.”
She fixes the baby’s diaper and says, “It fell, but I got it.”
The toddler’s love of Mary and Jesus began at home, where a small nativity scene is placed for her to play with and observe.
But the core of her enthusiasm and adoration, her mom said, comes from the daily prayer and discussions about Mary and Jesus among the family.
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Wadgymar said her son Bernardo, 4, is battling Langerhans cell histiocytosis, a “rare, cancer-like condition,” according to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.
Tamara Wadgymar (right) is pictured with her husband Mauricio (left) and their children, Emilia (bottom right), age 2, and Bernardo (bottom left), age 4. (Tamara Wadgymar)
Emilia’s big brother is currently receiving chemotherapy at Texas Children’s Hospital.
The family left their home in Mexico for Woodlands, Texas, and also lived in Florida for a time during Bernardo’s treatment.
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It’s his fourth treatment, according to Wadgymar — and he has also developed diabetes insipidus.
But instead of focusing on the struggle her family is now facing, Wadgymar said the general outlook on life is all about gratitude.
Emilia Wadgymar hugs a nativity figure of the Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus, in a video that her mother recorded. Little Emilia and her family pray often, and she is aware of religious figures and who they are, her parents said. (Tamara Wadgymar)
At one time, the family “struggled a lot.”
“We were living in Airbnbs. At one point, we lost my husband’s insurance,” Wadgymar said.
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“But we thank God for having a house now and for the clinical trial Bernardo was a part of and his treatment. We talk about God’s love for us.”
Emilia Wadgymar, 2, touched hearts on Instagram after her mother shared a video showing her greeting the figurines of Mother Mary and Baby Jesus, which were on display during Christmastime. (Tamara Wadgymar)
It’s that love that appears to resonate with little Emilia and the nativity.
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“I told her, ‘God gave us Jesus because He loves us.’ And I explained how exciting it was for Mary to be having a baby and how that baby is now born into our hearts each Christmas. Kids really do understand almost anything if you explain it on their level.”
Wadgymar’s video of little Emilia greeting Mother Mary and Baby Jesus has garnered some 5.3 million views on Instagram.
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