The Great American solar eclipse occurred on August 21, 2017. For the first time in many years a total solar eclipse was visible across the whole United States. The path of totality went through Nashville Tennessee, and we traveled there to witness the event. Along the way we visited with family & friends in Knoxville, Nashville, Asheville, and Kernersville NC.

This year’s card features our nativity set, which has been part of several cards over the years. The theme behind this version is the view that a Shepard would have looking from the hills toward the gathering around the baby Jesus. While the bible is clear about there being a newly found bright star in the sky, I substituted a photo of this summer’s eclipse instead.

The main image on the card is made from 15 different photos assembled in Adobde Illustrator and Photoshop. The hills are taken from a photo of the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. I would love to say the eclipse photo was one of mine, but it’s not. It was taken from the same exact park where we were and was properly licensed. There were hundreds of photographers there among the thousands of people at the park outside Nashville. And this photographer really captured the image better than most I’ve seen.