Nativity

I wish all of you had the same chance as I did last week to view an exhibit of hundreds of Nativity scenes from around the world. I was blown away at the creativity of the artists in their interpretation of the birth of the Christ child. Since I am partial to Peru, where I once lived, let me share this one first:

And since my daughter lives in the southwest US, here's one from there:

What I appreciated most was the wide variety of navities ranging from 

simplicity:

To more complex: 

To whimsical:

And how about this one from Mexico that takes the nativity to a whole other level:

One of my favorites was this one from Kenya made from recycled soda cans:

Just to show you better, here's a close up of the Coca Cola shepherd:

There were so many more I could share with you, but I want to save enough for you to enjoy on your own next year. The amazing collector of all these has plenty more at home (over 400) and hopefully she'll bring them back to the Hudson Uptown Building here in North Carolina. In gazing at these magnificant representations of the birth of a holy figure, I came to the realization that God reaches people through all kinds of art. If presenting his Son to the world in a lowly manger one night in Bethlehem was His choice, and if artists throughout the world received a God-given gift of a creative mind, then we can praise Him and His Son through any path that speaks to us in special ways, such as these.

And for those who prefer comic book/graphic art style to hear the nativity story, let me give a shout-out to the artist of my Marshmallow Stew, Cheyenne Kimberlin. Her simple representation of the birth of Christ is as powerful as any of the above.

Catch of the day,

Gretchen