Nativities are a special part of the Christmas season. These depictions of Christ's birth help us focus on the meaning of this wonderful time of year.
For many years The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has held the Festival of the Nativity. This free community event features hundreds of Nativities and musical performances by individuals and groups from the community.
This year we volunteered to be hosts on the first night. We had the opportunity to enjoy the displays (and take pictures) before people thronged to this amazing reminder of Christ's birth.
For many years The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has held the Festival of the Nativity. This free community event features hundreds of Nativities and musical performances by individuals and groups from the community.
This year we volunteered to be hosts on the first night. We had the opportunity to enjoy the displays (and take pictures) before people thronged to this amazing reminder of Christ's birth.
522 Nativities from 44 countries
were contributed by 98 families
were contributed by 98 families
144 Christmas trees; 300 live poinsettias (purchased by individuals & “loaned” for the night, to be picked up Sunday evening at the close of the Festival)
Large Nativity in the entrance to the meetinghouse
Click on any photo to see a larger image and
to look through all the photos in the blog post.
to look through all the photos in the blog post.
In addition to the main display in the cultural hall/gym there was a room dedicated to artwork about Christ; a room where videos about Christ were shown; a children’s room with Nativities children could touch (above); an activity room for children and a room where children could dress in Nativity clothes and have a picture taken in front of a stable scene.
This is one of my favorites - made in Africa from soda cans
There's an alligator in this Nativity
Click on this so you can see the "hair" on the wise man on the left
on the right - Joseph, Mary & baby Jesus
The Nativities were made from a great variety of materials
Liberia - made from bullet casings
Haiti - made from oil drums
left - Poland (cardboard & foil) right - coconut
My mother liked camels
I thought of her when I saw this Nativity
left - Guatemala right - Finland
left - Mexico right - India (wood & metal)
Peru - made of clay formed from potatoes & plaster of Paris
Zimbabwe - made from metallic beads & wire
all sorts of unique animals in this Nativity - flamingo, zebra, alligator
"This Nativity set of wire and beads is made by Rabson. The beads used in these figures are metallic beads, which cost 5 times more than regular plastic beads. Rabson is a charming young man who grew up in a village in Zimbabwe. His parents were too poor to send him to school so he does not speak much English. He has been a refugee in South Africa for one year due to the terrible economic and political crisis in his homeland. Since the creation of a new government in Zimbabwe in 2009, Rabson wants to go back home because it is easier to survive hardship on one's own country than to be in a country" that doesn't welcome refuges
left - Finland right - Kenya
this was taken during set up (boxes in background)
Poland
left - Africa right - Burma
right - Haiti
left - South Africa right - Vietnam
Maasai - Africa
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