PHOTO ESSAY
Inviting the Baby Jesus into Our Home at Christmas
Many years ago we visited a neighbor’s home during the Christmas holidays. Their passion was collecting nativities from all over the world. It moved us so deeply and we felt the Spirit so strongly in their home, we decided then and there we would start collecting nativities in our own world travels. There’s something about setting these up each year that moves us deeply. Each scene centers around the baby Jesus and as we place each figure, it is as if we are surrounding the holy baby Jesus. After we have set up about ten of these magnificent sets, we feel the Spirit entering our home more than normal. This year we have 49 sets from far-flung places such as Egypt, Poland, Laos, Germany and Mali. Without exception when people enter our home they comment something like, “Oh wow, this is so lovely. It’s just magical. There’s such a spirit in your home.” We like that, and so each year, along with all of our other traditions, we continue to invite the Spirit of Christ into our home in rich measure during this sacred holiday. Come and enjoy a few of our nativities: From our home to yours. Merry Christmas.
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One of the humblest of the nativities is this hand-shaped, clay nativity from Egypt. Each piece is carefully handmade and hand painted. This one is delicate and fragile and feels so authentic. -
I love the hair and beard details in the characters and the expressions in their faces. -
Whenever someone asks me, “Which one of all of these is your favorite nativity?” I almost always say, “Well, I would have to say Egypt. It’s just so raw and so poor and so tender and fragile.”
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My maternal grandmother’s line comes from Prussia (Poland) so we went there and found the most beautiful folk art. Farmers carved wood pieces in their homes and barns. These pieces are beautiful.
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The baby Jesus is captured in a thousand different ways from these various countries. This one from Poland is certainly unique.
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Our dear friend, Yeah Samake, brought this nativity to us from Mali (Africa). It is truly wonderful and adds so much to our collection.
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I love this particular kind of wood–Makore (African cherry) from Mali. It’s a unique color and texture from all the others.
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The animals, shepherds and kings capture the viewers attention immediately.
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The Germans have three very iconic traditions at Christmas: The Smokers, The Nutcrackers and the Pyramids. We love the pyramids.
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The heat of the candles causes this to gentle turn so you can see each of the scenes on each of the levels.
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The cave here is made from the stump of an olive tree and has been carefully sanded and finely finished in Bethlehem.
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This is our oldest nativity. We have had it for more than 30 years. We know the workers in Bethlehem who do this fine work and love them.
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This particular style of carving is copied in other countries.
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We love this Japanese nativity as it reminds us of our oldest daughter, Melissa, whom we lost more than five years ago. She served her mission in Japan.
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Our grandchildren love these nativities and on Christmas Eve they have a nativity scavenger hunt. We give about 25 obscure clues like, “Find the baby Jesus that looks like he is in an egg.” Japan!
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Maurine’s mother’s line in from Holland so we had to have this beautiful Delft Pottery nativity from the Netherlands.
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The blue is so rich, it’s almost unreal. And notice the little “wooden” shoes to the left.
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Having these nativities from various countries also reminds us of our ancestral lines. How did our people feel about Jesus in the 1600’s?
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This nativity is from the Lake Balaton region of Hungary. It’s amazing, but the figures here were similar to some of the people we met there!
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Each of these figures brings us a smile each year.
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On our hutch we place the nativities from Hungary (top), Switzerland (middle) and Italy (bottom).
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This Swiss nativity is only purchased “a la carte” –one piece at a time. They are not cheap–that’s why it has taken us years to collect all these sets.
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Of course, in the Swiss mind, a St. Bernhard would come to the manger to bring aid and protection.
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The Alpenhorn was used to herald the coming of the new king.
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I love the tenderness of this little bunny sitting up to try to see the baby Jesus.
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The Fontanini set from Italy is so unique–very Catholic in style–and very much capturing the invitation for all people to come to the manger and be with the baby Jesus.
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This man holds a light from the baby Jesus and finds there is more light coming from the Baby.
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All of the town folk come as they are to the manger, bringing their individual, unique gifts.
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We love the simplicity and the human touch of the Fontanini figures.
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We have 24 grandchildren, many of whom are very little and love to touch things. We have taught them that this dog, in the Fontanini set, is one piece they can touch and hold and play with as long as they put him back. We’ve found this dog in the most interesting places all over the house.
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The Amish will not do faces on their figures and so this nativity from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is faceless.
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We love that the baby in this Amish set is laying on a handmade braided rug.
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The magi bring the gifts that are really valuable to the Amish.
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Even this stylized horse has a beautiful Amish-style saddle blanket.
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The Amish angel has a tree of life symbol in the quilt she holds.
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Here is the center of each of the nativities: the Baby Jesus.
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This set is from Tallinn, Estonia, and is one of our favorites. We found this is a shop just a short time before our ship was leaving port and had to buy it, carefully wrap it up (because it is so fragile) and then run to catch the ship. It was a memorable run.
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The figures are formed with great skill and detail.
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This set has a little feel of Eastern Orthodoxy as that is the dominant religion in Estonia.
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This is my favorite Mary of all of our sets. This was made by the Palestinians. I love how utterly protective she is of the Baby Jesus.
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Each of these traditional Palestinian figures is full of symbolism in their dress. The kaffiyah (or headdress) is worn by the men. The word kaffiyah means covering or cover and is the same root word for atonement–a cover for our sins.
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These two angels on the Finnish nativity are a favorite among the grandchildren and are always included in the scavenger hunt.
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We especially love this Finnish set because my mother bought it for us while she was with us at the Helsinki, Finland Temple dedication.
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We have spent a lot of time around a Masai tribe in Kenya. We have Masai friends. They are a very unique people.
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The Masai set is made from banana fiber and then covered with Shuka cloth. The Masai shield is part of the official flag of Kenya.
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We love how the baby is covered with a simple piece of hand-woven burlap material.
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Finally, one of our favorite American artists, Jim Shore, has captured a true perspective of Christmas in this tender scene. Merry Christmas to all.
ShelleyDecember 24, 2024
What a wonderful collection you have! Thanks for sharing. Where in Switzerland did you buy the set with the St. Bernard in it? I'd love to get something like it. Thanks!
DonnaDecember 24, 2021
We LOVE your nativities! I wish we could see them all. We too have traveled and collected a few precious nativities that bring joy when we get them out. Consider showing us more of your nativities in a future addition! Thank you for the gift of your newsletter all year, which reminds me, it's time to contribute. Merry Christmas!