Nativity sets depict manger scene where Jesus was born
Detail of a Nativity set which included the wise men and their camels.(Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
The hundreds of Nativity sets on display represent the work of artists from around the world. They’re offered for display by residents from the greater Flathead Valley area, as far south as Paradise and as far north as Eureka. Some crèche collectors share their collections for the event. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
THE ANNUAL display is always the first week of December.
A Nativity set from Africa.
THE HUNDREDS of Nativity sets on display in early December at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Kalispell represent the work of artists from around the world. They’re offered for display by residents from the greater Flathead Valley.
A Nativity set from Israel.
The hundreds of Nativity sets on display represent the work of artists from around the world. They’re offered for display by residents from the greater Flathead Valley area, as far south as Paradise and as far north as Eureka. Some crèche collectors share their collections for the event. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
The hundreds of Nativity sets on display represent the work of artists from around the world. They’re offered for display by residents from the greater Flathead Valley area, as far south as Paradise and as far north as Eureka. Some crèche collectors share their collections for the event. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
The hundreds of Nativity sets on display represent the work of artists from around the world. They’re offered for display by residents from the greater Flathead Valley area, as far south as Paradise and as far north as Eureka. Some crèche collectors share their collections for the event. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)
Every year they come from around the world, traveling long distances to be part of the annual Community Christmas Celebration in Kalispell.
The sizes, shapes and colors are all different, but these Nativity sets, or crèches as they’re often called, have a singular focus. Each scene depicts the birth of Jesus Christ more than 2,000 years ago in a lowly manger in Bethlehem.
Organized by the Kalispell Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the annual multi-denominational display has been become part of the Flathead Valley’s Christmas landscape each year, unfolding in early December. The planning takes months, however.
A team of 20 volunteer leaders start in May of each year with the planning and development of the program, said Michele Reese, director of public relations for the Kalispell Stake that covers an area from Eureka to Polson and Thompson Falls.
“The volunteer team swells by fall to well over 250 men and women who contribute their time and effort to bring about what you see,” Reese said.
“Each crèche is unique and reflects its culture of origin,” she noted. “We have had them made of corn husks, rocks, plastic, gourds, glass, porcelain, paper, wood and fabric. They range in size from less than 1 inch tall to many feet. They have come from dozens of nations, many handcrafted.”
Each of the more than 300 Nativity sets in the display is artistically displayed.
“They’re all special and they belong to people who care about them,” Reese said. “We just love starting the season with something sweet, real and peaceful ... With Christmas becoming so commercialized we want to share the simple beauty of hundreds of Nativity sets displayed in a beautiful setting and invite musicians from around the valley to share their talents and touch the hearts of visitors in the way that only Christmas music can.”
Though it’s too late to take in this year’s display, Nativity set admirers should mark their calendars for the 2017 display that will take place the first weekend in December.
St. Francis of Assisi generally is credited with creating the first Nativity scene at Christmas in the year 1223. As the story goes, St. Francis filled a manger with hay and set up a live Nativity scene with animals and people near the village of Greccio, Italy, to remind the villagers of the true message of Christmas.