A Glorious Nativity!

I thought I'd share this with everyone as it has brought a lot of joy to many this year.  This is the creche sitting on the altar of our church. Here is the story:

Many years ago I asked my mother, an artist/retired art teacher, to make me a nativity set.  Most years I receive a character as a Christmas present.  I say most, because, as an artist, if the character does not meet my mother's expectations I will not get it until the following year (hence the reason why there are only two wise men at the present time-Gold did not meet her expectations; I joked that he made a wrong turn in Albuquerque).  My mother's thought was that these should be set up in three vignettes-the manger scene in one place of a room, the shepherds in another, and the wise men in a third location.  As we have cats that pose a dangerous threat to the fragile pottery pieces, these characters have never left the safety of their glass doored hutch.  That is until this year.  I asked our pastor if she would like to display them on the altar and here they are.  I set the two wise men today after church to mark Epiphany Sunday next week (Epiphany is the celebration of the three wise men coming to the Christ child).  I have received many compliments on my mother's work including someone commenting that they should be placed in a folk art museum.  They are precious and, to me, priceless.  I hope you can enjoy them as much as the members of our church have.  Below are more detailed photos of the vignettes.

Luke 2: 8-19

Luke 2:1-7

Matthew 2:1-12