Curated by Felice Maciejewski
December 2003
The nativity of Christ is celebrated around the world on December 24th and 25th. Each country celebrates Christmas in different ways, often very festive and colorful. Many cultures depict the birth of Christ through nativity sets or scenes. It is believes that the custom of nativity scenes began with St. Francis of Assissi, who in 1223 built the first nativity scene in a cave, complete with a live donkey and oxen. This custom spread throughout the Christian world. The Spaniards brought the nativity scene tradition to Latin America.
The celebrations differ from country to country in Latin America. Some celebrate the Nochebuena (Christmas Eve) by attending the Misa de Gallo (Midnight Mass), while others wait until January 6th to celebrate el Día de los Reyes (Epiphany), and still others celebrate several days before Christmas with the Posadas or Pastorcillos.
In the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America the nativity scene is known as nacimiento, pesebre, portal, or pasito. In French-speaking Haiti it is called crèche and in Brazil, the term used in Portuguese is presépio.
Families may begin to set up the nacimientos a few weeks before Christmas up to Christmas Eve. This often calls for inviting family, friends, and neighbors as wells as the local priest to bless the nacimiento. Food and drink are often served and villancicos (Christmas carols) are sung. Most nativity scenes have the Holy Family, with the ox, donkeys, sheep, angels, and Wise Men. They can be quite large and elaborate, sometimes taking up a whole corner of a room. Often el Niño Jesús (Baby Jesus) is placed in the manger on Christmas Eve and the Wise Men -- Gaspard, Melchior and Balthazar -- are placed in the nacimiento on January 6th. In some countries the nacimiento cannot be taken down until prayers are said or it is blessed by the parish priest.
Most of the nacimientos in this exhibit are made from clay, some from seeds and wood. The country of origin and material of composition is noted for each nativity set.
This year's exhibit is a larger version of previous years' exhibits, which included these nativities:
Nativity in soft earth tones. Tlaquepaque, Jalisco, Mexico. Photograph by Richard Pérez.
Figures nested in a gourd, with the Holy Family in one side and villagers in the other. Peru. Photograph by Richard Pérez.
Marzipan figures with ornamentation imitating traditional embroidery. Carapungo, Ecuador. Photograph by Richard Pérez.
Nativity scene in painted wood. El Salvador. Photograph by Richard Pérez.
Clay figures in colorful Indian costume. Guatemala. Photograph by Richard Pérez.
