World Nativities Exhibit At Glencairn Museum Showcases Meaning Of Christmas Told From Around Globe
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BRYN ATHYN, Pa. (CBS) -- For many people, part of the Christmas tradition is pulling the tree and nativity scene out of storage. The Glencairn Museum in Bryn Athyn has dozens of nativity scenes from all over the world for visitors to enjoy.
Not only do these nativities mark the meaning of Christmas, they mark where they came from and who made them.
And while you're sure to see familiar figures, Leah Smith, the museum's tour coordinator, points out that the finer details depicting this universal story differ depending on the artist's perspective and where they're from.
"The goal of the exhibition is to show how people around the world take their own regional sensibilities and apply them to this universal story of the birth of Jesus," Smith said.
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For example, a nativity from Liberia is made completely of shell casings used during the Liberian Civil War.
A nativity scene from Mexico sits atop a hill lined with poinsettias, mimicked after the artist's real-life traditional Christmas trek up a similar mountain.
It's the true meaning of Christmas told from around the world.
The exhibit opens to the public on Friday. Kids can participate in a scavenger hunt to find different items in various nativity scenes for a prize at the end of the tour.