When the Vatican Christmas tree and nativity scene were unveiled on Saturday, Pope Francis reminded the faithful to “stay rooted in Jesus Christ” during the holidays. “The tree teaches us about our roots, the nativity scene invites us to contemplation. Don’t forget these two human and Christian attitudes,” he said. “The tree, with its lights, Read more
A Southern California church’s nativity scene this year presents Jesus, Mary and Joseph as refugees detained and separated at the border. Each figure is isolated in its own chain-link cage with a barbed-wire top. The nativity scene is drawing mixed reactions for the way it presents the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt in the context Read more
A pair of alpacas have become unlikely stars in Massey Presbyterian Church’s annual Christmas Drive-Through. Casting the animal participants in live nativity scenes has always been a challenge in New Zealand, where there are no camels to accompany the wise men who made the trek to Bethlehem. But over the 16 years the Auckland event Read more
Locking baby Jesus in a cage and corralling the wise men into an area marked “deportation” is not what you’d expect a nativity scene to look like. Yet this year’s nativity scene at St Susanna’s parish in Massachusetts shows exactly that scene. Set beneath a sign that asks the question “Peace on Earth?”, the scene Read more