By Ashley Perlam
Charleston Gazette-Mail
When Connie Hinman decorates her house for Christmas, she sets up about a half dozen Nativity sets.
But when Hinman sets up her Nativities From Around the World exhibit at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in South Charleston, she has a team of volunteers working for a week to set up hundreds of Nativity sets from over 170 countries.
The exhibit was open from Dec. 13-21.
The sets feature painted pinto beans from Mexico (Holy Frijo-les), costumed koalas, newspaper, a chess set, yetis from Nepal and car parts.
“If I’m looking at automobile parts, [a Nativity is] the last thing I think of,” she said.
Hinman can’t pick a favorite, but she knows exactly where the most unique sets are, like one from Guyana made from rubber or one from Samoa with a shark.
Some are abstract and use shapes to convey the Holy Family. One from Poland made of aluminum foil can be lifted with your pinky. Another Nativity from Italy carved into a Brazilian geode requires two hands to pick up.
“It’s not your typical Nativity display,” she said. “There’s very few normal ones.”
Even the more ordinary sets have a twist. One is made of ash from the Mount Saint Helens erup-tion in 1980 and another from driftwood.
Read the rest of the story at the Charleston Gazette-Mail