Cherished Nativity sets display true meaning of Christmas December 22, 2025By Katie V. Jones OSV News Filed Under: Christmas, Feature, Local News, News En Español The Nativity scene – Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus – is a Christmas image found worldwide. Big or small, carved from wood, sculpted from stone or knitted from yarn, the crèche represents the true meaning of the holiday. “Christmas is not about some reindeer,” said Jairo Muñoz, a parishioner of St. Joseph in Cockeysville. “It is not about a fat guy in a red suit. It is about baby Jesus.” Jairo Muñoz and his wife, Pilar Ferreira, parishioners of St. Joseph in Cockeysville, rescued this nativity set approximately 15 years ago from a Goodwill Store. The couple constructed the stable, which is part of an impressive display reaching more than 10 feet in length and includes the City of Jerusalem and various other figures. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff) A native of Colombia, Muñoz displays 25 different Nativity sets throughout his home – even in his bedroom – on every table or flat surface. For his front yard, he built a small house showcasing figures he made of Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus, along with two angels. “It is what I want to present to the world,” Muñoz said. “A lot of people stop by and say, ‘Thank you.’ ” “It was a family tradition growing up,” Muñoz said. “My mother loved it.” Lia Garcia, director of Hispanic Ministry for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, collects Nativity sets wherever she travels, including Egypt, Italy and Guatemala. “You see the cultures resembled in the little pieces, little pieces of art,” Garcia said, noting the traditional fabrics on her figures from Peru and the bright colors on a set from Guatemala. “It is a reminder that the church is universal, and the Nativity story is definitely something that all of the Christian community can identify with. People through art celebrate the coming of Jesus or the Nativity.” The Holy Family is depicted in a miniature nativity set obtained from Bolivia by Lia Garcia. The figures resemble the people of the Andes. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff) Garcia displays her more than 50 sets starting Thanksgiving weekend. Each set evokes a memory. Some of his crèches are more elaborate, featuring shepherds, the Magi and animals from donkeys to camels. “I remember exactly where I was,” she said. “Each one of them just means something different to me. They all have a place in my home.” Friends and family often add to her collection. “Just the fact that they think of me and they bring back a little treasure, that always means a lot,” Garcia said. Her oldest figure is the baby Jesus, a gift from her mother 20 years ago. Her children grew up with the tradition, first playing with their own set and now helping arrange the crèches and claiming favorites. “The Nativity scene is something that everybody can gravitate to,” Garcia said. The Flight to Egypt is depicted in a wooden carved scene purchased by Lia Garcia at a market in Dar es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania, during a Catholic Relief Services mission trip in 2018. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff) Darcie Dixon, a parishioner of St. Leo the Great in Little Italy, treasures a Nativity set made by her mother, who taught ceramics to neighborhood friends in the 1970s. “My most treasured piece from that time is a Nativity set, marked ‘MVD 1974’ at the bottom of each figurine. MVD are my mother’s initials,” Dixon said. “I lost my mother to cancer when I was just 20, and for the past 35 years, I’ve felt her with me each Christmas as I place the pieces on the mantle.” The vintage set reminds her of the love Mary had for the baby Jesus. “The love between a mother and child” is “a love that never fades,” she said. Origins of the Crèche Greccio, 1223: St. Francis of Assisi arranged the first live Nativity in a cave near Greccio, Italy, using a manger, hay and animals to recreate Christ’s humble birth. A sensory devotion: Villagers attended a midnight Mass beside the scene, experiencing the Gospel story in a tangible way. Global tradition: Nativity scenes spread across Italy and eventually the world. Email Katie V. Jones at kjones@CatholicReview.org Read More Christmas Archbishop Lori preaches message of hope during two holiday homilies Families fostering Gospel values provide hope in dark world, pope says At home with Jesus How celebrating Mary Jan. 1 celebrates the Incarnation Open your hearts to baby Jesus and one another, pope says on Christmas To turn away others is to turn away God, pope says on Christmas Eve Copyright © 2025 OSV News Print
