Glencairn Museum

ADVENT CALENDAR DAY NINE Slovak folk artists use corn husks to make Christmas and Easter scenes, as well as scenes representing the traditional way of life in rural Slovak villages. In 1994 Peter Palka designed a Nativity, similar to this one, which won first prize at the International Crèche Festival in Bellingham, Washington. The United States Ambassador to the Slovak Republic awarded the prize to Palka in a ceremony held at the parliament building in Bratislava, the cap...ital city. Palka’s Nativity also appeared on the Slovak Republic’s 1995 Christmas stamp. This year Glencairn’s annual World Nativities exhibition is taking place online for all to enjoy. Every day a new Nativity scene from Glencairn’s collection will appear in an online Advent calendar on our website. Visit the calendar regularly, or simply follow our social media to receive each day’s Nativity in your newsfeed and learn about its history, imagery, and the artist who made it! See more

ADVENT CALENDAR DAY EIGHT Guatemala has a rich and diverse culture, which includes both Mayan and Spanish influences. Mayan culture is known for its brilliantly dyed textiles, which are woven into capes, shirts and dresses. The painted floral designs of this Nativity are most likely inspired by Guatemalan clothing. The Christ Child lies on a manger in the shape of a rooster, and seems to be holding a toy in the shape of a chicken. This may be a symbolic reference to the Mi...sa del Gallo (Mass of the Rooster), a Midnight Mass that Guatemalans celebrate on Christmas Eve. According to tradition, on the night the baby Jesus was born, a rooster crowed at midnight. This year Glencairn’s annual World Nativities exhibition is taking place online for all to enjoy. Every day a new Nativity scene from Glencairn’s collection will appear in an online Advent calendar on our website. Visit the calendar regularly, or simply follow our social media to receive each day’s Nativity in your newsfeed and learn about its history, imagery, and the artist who made it! See more

ADVENT CALENDAR DAY SEVEN In 2018 Nancy Schnarr-Bruell, an artist from Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, created this three-dimensional version of an illustration in The Christ Child, a 1931 children’s book by Maud and Miska Petersham. The Petershams, a husband-and-wife artist team, were well known in the first half of the 20th century as illustrators and authors of children’s literature. Before illustrating The Christ Child, the Petershams traveled together for three months in Pa...lestine, researching the clothing and customs of the Holy Land. This year Glencairn’s annual World Nativities exhibition is taking place online for all to enjoy. Every day a new Nativity scene from Glencairn’s collection will appear in an online Advent calendar on our website. Visit the calendar regularly, or simply follow our social media to receive each day’s Nativity in your newsfeed and learn about its history, imagery, and the artist who made it! See more

#Advent2020Today is the second Sunday of Advent, a four-week season leading up to Christmas. This year, instead of the usual in-person experience, Glencairn Museum’s annual World Nativities exhibition is taking place online for all to enjoy. Every day, from December 1 through December 25, a new Nativity scene from Glencairn’s collection will appear in our online Advent calendar (below). Follow Glencairn’s social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr) to receive each day’s Nativity in your newsfeed and learn about its history, imagery, and the artist who made it!