PRIME TIME
Nativity Display Making the Season Brighter for 13 Years
By Barb Armijo
The holy nativity – baby Jesus’ birth in a stable – is one of the most beautiful religious representations in the world. For 13 years, members of the Sandia Presbyterian Church and members and community volunteers have organized one of the most extensive and varied nativity displays in the state.
It is estimated that more than 750 scenes will be on display this year at Sandia Presbyterian Church in Albuquerque from 11 a. m.-8 p. m. December 3 and 8 a. m.-noon December 4. Admission is free.
Some of the scenes are made by local amateur craftsmen, and many others have been collected from around the world, said organizer Judy Henderson.
Sets range from the size of a thimble to life size. Some are fine porcelain. One is a paper pop-up nativity crafted by a pre-teen many years ago. Another set features rocks picked up from the backyard.
When asked what is new this year, display host Robert Henderson said,“ That is part of the fascination of the nativity display; nothing is new.”
He went on to explain that for 2,000 years, the story of the nativity has been the same. What is remarkable is that people’ s cultures come through in their unique versions of the story. With that said, the characters remain the same but each set becomes unique.
“ Of the 768 sets that were in the display last year, only three or four were exactly the same as other sets in the show,” he said.“ People in Africa depict the characters to look the same as people they see, dark skin, fancy robes, et cetera. Native Americans see the stable as an adobe hut. Characters in the Russian stack doll nativity are dressed as royalty. Several of the South American countries have a distinctive style. It is hard to explain how a set that shows the Charlie Brown characters dressed in their mother’ s bathrobes and curtains for the school Christmas play can tell the story of the birth of Christ just as effectively as an elegant, expensive ceramic nativity set by Lladro or Hummel.”
Lladro and Hummel are types of world renowned porcelain figurines from Spain and Germany, respectively. The name Lladro comes from brothers Juan, Jose and Vicente Lladro who created them in 1953. Hummels are a series of figurines based on the drawings of Sister Maria Innocentia
Hummel of Germany in the 1930s.
There are several antique nativity sets, including a few provided by event organizer Ginger Grossetete, who collects nativity sets from other countries.
The display started in the summer of 2003, when the minister Dewey Johnson at Sandia proposed that the church sponsor an event in which members could temporarily donate their nativity sets to a display for the congregation.
“ After the initial invitation was issued to the congregation, we were encouraged by the interest generated,” Robert Henderson said.“ Then after one member of the congregation asked how many of her 100 sets she could bring, we knew the show would be a success.”
In fact, organizers have discovered a community of nativity collectors who love to share their treasures.
That first year, the display was composed of about 100 sets. In 2015, there were 768 sets displayed by 52 people, and more than 700 came to enjoy and be blessed by the beauty and variety presented. In recent years, about two-thirds of people bringing their sets to the display have been members of the church. Others from
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outside the church, most of whom have attended the event, ask to display their sets the following year.
One prominent participant is Susan Weber, owner of the Christmas Shop in Old Town. Attendance annually is at about 1,000 people over the two days of the display.
“ We also have people coming from other states,” Robert Henderson said.“ We attribute that to word of mouth about how fantastic our display is.”
One distinctive and memorable part of the display is a set of 1,000 Fontanini figurines. Fontanini pieces were initially created by Englishman Emanuele Fontanini in the 1800s. The Fontanini family continues to pass its craft down from generation to generation, with all work on the hand painted figurines being done in Italy and exported to other countries, including the U. S.
The Fontanini collection that will be on display at Sandia Presbyterian depicts life in the village of Bethlehem in the time of Christ.
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