Marvelous nativity sets

Here’s what will grace my prayer corner this Christmas: a wooden image of Mary from Guatemala, a ceramic Jesus with a crib of Lenca pottery that I bought in El Salvador, and a wooden angel from Bolivia, with a candle in a wooden star, from Bethlehem. I wish Jesus was not so white, but… 

I also have a tiny creche, from Ecuador, painted by a woman from Colombia, the wife of a colleague at Caritas a few years ago.

This image of the Holy Family, crafted from olive wood, from Palestine, was at the center of my prayer space one Christmas.

 

Some people are upset about the creche in St. Peter’s Square. While it may not be to my taste, there is one element that I find absolutely marvelous: an astronaut is bringing the Baby Jesus a moon rock. 

In Honduras, as in El Salvador, many people put a lot of effort into the arrangement of nacimientos, in churches as well as in private homes. The church of San Marcos in Gracias, Lempira, has often had marvelous nacimientos with scores of figures.

A few years ago, the pastor and I stopped at a few houses in Quebraditas and saw a unique one with Snow White on a horse, rubber duckies, Minnie and Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, and even a half-naked Barbie.

If you want to quibble about this, fine. But you may be missing an important message: the Incarnation.

Jesus Christ, God-made-flesh, came into the midst of our lives on this earth. Let all come and worship him – with moon rocks, action figures, dinosaurs, and all God’s creation. 

Different cultures will reflect this differently. In 2013, on a personal pilgrimage in Italy, I came across a display of Nativity sets in the Cathedral of Ravenna. What an amazing variety, reflecting different cultures, nations, and races.

You can find more of these images here. 

Truly God is born among us - and pitches his tent everywhere.