Mepkin's collection of Nativity Scenes brings thousands of visitors to our grounds each Thanksgiving and Christmas. We hope you will enjoy this beautifully illustrated book and be inspired to attend our annual festival this year.
About this Book
Featuring creches by more than one hundred artists from over seventy countries, this delightful book explores the worldwide tradition of the creche, or nativity scene, and its enduring appeal as an expression of faith and universal humanity, and as a richly diverse art form.
From the Publisher
One of the most enduring and universal Christmas traditions is the creche, or the Nativity scene: a representation of the story of Christ's birth. This beautiful book reveals the worldwide appeal and custom of the creche and the diversity of creative expression displayed in this art form. Creche artists featured include a third-generation American firefighter devoted to preserving the Spanish Colonial santos tradition; a woman who served in the Dutch resistance during the Nazi occupation of The Netherlands; Cambodian landmine victims who helped carve a nativity with Khmer features; and a carver from New Zealand whose work is based on Maori traditions. This book contains more than 100 creches (Nativity scenes) from over 70 countries reflect indigenous cultures from around the world. It is a wonderfully designed album, completed by an insightful text. It will appeal to anyone interested in collectables, folk art, cultural traditions and especially to those seeking the perfect Christmas gift book.
About the Author
JAMES L. GOVAN is a collector of contemporary crèches and the founding president of the Friends of the Crèche society. He is a former international aid and development worker.With his late wife, Emilia Govan, he searched all corners of the world for unique and unusual nativities."
