Not international nativities

Here are the rest of the nativities I photographed last week. These are all either made in the USA or are otherwise not "cultural."

I thought I'd start out this post with the history of the nativity. If you click this photo to make it bigger, you can read the whole thing. I think it's pretty neat.

This piece was gorgeous. It's no more than three inches tall, and it's one of those cool etched-inside-the-glass blocks.

I've never seen a nativity of Santas. It's cute, but I think it might defeat the point of a nativity.

These next three aren't even two inches tall or wide, each. They are tiny and delicate.

I love the blown glass.

This one of so simple, but still portrays the powerful scene.





This one was interesting. The tall narrow figures are different than the usual, and the baby Jesus is usually in a manger, rather than being held by Mary.

My friend really liked this Mary. Mary is often portrayed as older and wiser, not the teenager she likely was. My friend thought this Mary looked young still.

This set was pretty cool. It's hard to tell from the photo, but each of these big pieces was five or so levels deep. Each line shows not just a line, but a new layer of wood. In the photo, you can see it best on the angel at the left.



I like the angles (not angels) of this set. Everything points toward and focuses on the babe, including Joseph's beard and Mary's hands.





These next two were really neat. I liked the scenes incorporated into the words. They are each a good reminder of the true meaning of Christmas.



Finally, a portrayal of the Last Supper. It is still Christ-centric and was on display as well. It may not be a nativity, but I liked it and this is my blog. So there. :)