Scenes of the Nativity

We have several nativity scenes that are very special to me and we really enjoy getting them out every year. Gil brought me several back from a trip to Peru. This is one of them.
(You can click on the photos to enlarge them if you want to).

I love this one with their removable Peruvian hats and the smiling animals.

This one was made by women who were in a Peruvian prison. Mary broke into 16 pieces while in transit. I was heartbroken and glued her back together. She is fine now.

They have a beautiful glow to them in a dimly lit room.

This is the oldest and most important of all our nativity groups. I bought these unfinished in the fall of 1979, which was the year Gil and I got married. We painted them together and have enjoyed them for 30 years now. They posed this year for a photo shoot.

For many years they didn't even have a stable. Now they do.

The other day Zac asked me how all of them sprang for the stable because he grew up seeing them without one. He wondered if the three wise men bought it with their gold, frankincense, and myrrh, but then said that it would be hard for them to give something that had been stuck to them for so many years (literally). This led to a spur of the moment song, with guitar and vocal, which was titled, "Give Up Your Myrrh for God." Somehow the song went on to mention the Nina, the Pinta, the Santa Maria, and the year 1492. I know. Perplexing.

Memories and traditions have been really fun in our family. Create as many as you can.