![]() “Flemish Nativity” is based on a 16th-century painting “The Census in Bethlehem” by the Flemish artist Pieter Bruegel, famous for filling his compositions with crowds of people and activity. Karen Loccisano and Michael Palan, of Bridgewater, N.J., contributed a nativity they crafted by hand that is also filled with mini-stories surrounding the central figures of Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus. WHYY thanks our sponsors - become a WHYY sponsor Rogers and his Neighborhood of Make Believe, I take things down off the shelves, come up with a different little vignette, start working on another one, and then eventually see if they all meld together. “I had all the figures on shelves in my apartment,” he said. DiAntonio arranged them into dozens of little dramas around the central narrative of the manger. His scene encompasses 100 square feet, populated by 178 vintage figures made by Tuscan artisans. For Glencairn, he made a sprawling “presepe,” an Italian-style scene that presents the visitation of Christ within a busy village scenario. (Emma Lee/WHYY)ĭiAntonio turned his obsession into a business, Navidad Nativity, which collects vintage and contemporary artisan figures and builds elaborate nativity scenes for clients. DiAntonio, of Malvern, made a sprawling “presepe,” an Italian-style scene that presents the visitation of Christ within a busy village scenario. So I would make the nativity out of toothbrushes.”įor Glencairn’s nativity exhibit, A.J. They looked like people with heads and bodies. “I always had the small toothbrush because I was a little kid, and I’d walk into my grandparents house and see toothbrushes there. “I would make nativities out of people’s toothbrushes,” he said. He recalls being drawn to the family nativity at 2 years old, so much so that his parents gave him his own set to play with. DiAntonio, of Malvern, nativity scenes have been a life-long fascination. A nativity from Louisiana, for example, features alligators instead of livestock, and one of the wise men is playing a saxophone.įor A.J. The annual exhibition of nativities collected from around the world features almost 50 scenes representing dozens of countries, such as Kenya, Nicaragua, Ukraine, and Italy.Īlthough the basic nativity arrangement of a father, mother, and child remains consistent, the variations are broad and culturally specific. Francis of Assisi first arranged a manger scene with live animals inside a cave in the town of Greccio, Italy, where he told the villagers the story of the birth of Christ.Ī museum of religious and medieval art in Bryn Athyn, Glencairn, is now basking in the diversity of nativity interpretations that have developed over the last eight centuries. This year marks the 800th anniversary of the Christmas nativity scene. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!
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