from Around the World
Embracing the Christmas spirit through the story of the birth of Jesus.
SAMPLE OF THE
collection
650+ NATIVITIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Thursday - Friday | December 5-6 | Noon - 7 PM
Saturday | December 7 | 10 AM - 3 PM
Fayetteville First United Methodist Church
175 East Lanier Ave. Fayetteville, Georgia 30214
Us
ABOUT
SHARING THE MIRACLE
Everywhere and always, the image of a manger evokes the Christian conviction that God came to be with us in the person of Jesus Christ. Just as for the shepherds, the humble birth scene inspires believers today that the incarnation and ongoing presence of Christ are the most profound reality of life.
Wendy Haymans and her late mother, Sharon Bowen, created this ministry of witness by assembling a diverse collection of more than 650 nativity scenes. Quite literally, they represent a world of countries, cultures, artistic forms and materials.
In the spirit of how Christ lived and served, some of the nativities are made with simple items – snack wrappers, bullet casings, old newspapers – things discarded for having little value. Other scenes show exquisite craftsmanship and brilliant style. For all their variety, each nativity expresses someone’s faith in the central importance of this long ago event.
Wendy and Sharon wanted to share the collection in order to start conversations about the significance of Christ’s birth, life, death and resurrection. Accordingly, the exhibit concludes with a “Life of Christ” display that features pivotal moments of Jesus’s ministry, all pointing to God’s great gift of salvation.
HISTORY OF THE NATIVITY SCENE
The earliest known visual depiction of Jesus’ birth dates to the 2nd century A.D. in the catacombs of St. Priscilla in Rome. Nativity scenes drawn from the gospels of Luke and Matthew were painted in catacombs until Christianity was no longer an “underground” faith. By the 4th and 5th centuries, bas-relief depictions of the holy family at the manger, the shepherds and wise men became common in church ornamentation.
St. Francis of Assisi is credited with popularizing the nativity scene with common folk and making it an icon of the Christmas season. According to a biography of Francis by St. Bonaventure, for his Christmas sermon in 1223 in the Italian village of Greccio, Francis filled a manger with hay, tied an ox and donkey nearby, and preached to a crowd from the surrounding area. The scene was bathed in light and the night air rang with recitations from the Psalms. Francis was so moved with emotion that he could not speak the name of Jesus, calling him “the Babe of Bethlehem.” Legend held that the power of that night lingered on, with the very hay from the manger able to cure illness.
Afterwards, the nativity scene became a staple of artwork in churches in Europe, first in live depictions and eventually in artistic renderings of painted and gilded wood. Wealthy families displayed their own versions of the nativity in Venetian glass and porcelain. With the industrial revolution, mechanized versions appeared including the Christ Child’s feet kicking in the manger.
When creches were banned during the French Revolution, the nativity scene in France returned to its underground roots. Christians secretly made them from household items like bread and cloth. In Provence, the artist Jean-Louis Lagnel began making small clay nativities. The figures were called “santons” or little saints and led to the modern-day popularity of nativity scenes on table tops, mantles, and bookshelves in homes throughout the world.
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