Nativity sets or displays

And I’d just add that the JG Nativity pattern doesn’t require any special skill - anyone who can cast on and off, knit, purl, and do simple inc. and dec., could make it. Her instructions are so detailed and explicit that if you follow them exactly you can’t really go wrong.
It is obviously very time consuming, though, and you do need a lot of different colours, which can be expensive.

Chestnut, I’m sure you’d soon find star and angel patterns online, or I dare say there are plenty available wherever decorations are sold.

The knitted sets are absolutely gorgeous and I would love to have the patience but not sure I could manage it. I haven't knitted since the 1970s when I made a green jumper! I would be very slow both in understanding the pattern and in dexterity too. If I could teach my granddaughter to knit then maybe she would get onto it?

I'm impressed that they seem to have most things, although I would like a donkey, cow/oxen, angel and star. I notice the donkey is separate but available, so if only there was an angel and a star. The cow/oxen I suppose is the least important.

Parsley3

eazybee

Yes I thought it was probably a Jehovah's Witness. I know they call themselves Christians but they are extremely selective about which scriptures they choose to believe.

My relative who is a Christian but does not celebrate Christmas is a member of a Pentacostal church. I googled an explanation for Jehovah's Witnesses and Christmas and it is similar to my relatives belief. There is no mention of 25th December in the scriptures.

Not only is there no mention of the date in the Bible but apparently 25th December is not possible because it would be too cold for the shepherds to be out in the fields. JW have also said very clearly that 25th December has been mixed up with pagan celebrations and that is why they don't celebrate it. The other reason is because it is the death of Jesus that is significant, not his birth. So these are all the reasons why some Christians don't celebrate Christmas.

eazybee

I don't know if it still pertains bu the Red Cross didn't sell Christmas cards that wished 'A Happy Christmas.' So I don't buy their Christmas cards.

I hope they didn’t say Happy Holidays! I hate that - Season’s Greetings is bad enough on what is after all a Christmas card - if it is.
If however the card has no actual Christmassy elements, just wintry ones or e.g. snowdrops, I’ll just about allow Season’s Greetings. 😉

Chocolatelovinggran

What a lovely thread. I have been admiring your work, Witzend, and been warmed by your post, Dickens.
My nativity set story relates to the simple wooden set bought when my youngest daughter was three. She was disgruntled with baby Jesus being made from one piece of wood, incorporating the cradle, which meant that he couldn't be removed.
One morning we came down to find that the wooden holy infant had been replaced with a lego baby..
The baby was never found and the likely culprit did not confess. Thirty plus years later, the set comes out and the grandchildren delight in hearing how naughty Someone was.

That reminds me of a Mr Bean xmas special when he couldn’t resist fiddling with a nativity set and put a plastic dinosaur into the scene which was going to eat baby Jesus. It was so funny.

eazybee

Yes I thought it was probably a Jehovah's Witness. I know they call themselves Christians but they are extremely selective about which scriptures they choose to believe.

My relative who is a Christian but does not celebrate Christmas is a member of a Pentacostal church. I googled an explanation for Jehovah's Witnesses and Christmas and it is similar to my relatives belief. There is no mention of 25th December in the scriptures.

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eazybee

Yes I thought it was probably a Jehovah's Witness. I know they call themselves Christians but they are extremely selective about which scriptures they choose to believe.

In my experience all "christians" are selective about what they choose to believe!

Chestnut

I have to say the thing I like about my paper nativity set is that it has the full works, including shepherds, lambs, an oxen, a donkey, three Kings with their gifts, and even a beautiful angel and the star attached to the roof of the stable. It has it all. So when I think of replacing it with a proper nativity set I usually think ''where's the angel?' or 'where's the shepherds and lambs?' because they are often not included. So I end up using the paper one each year.

I thought my knitted set could do with an ox (it already has sheep and a donkey) so I found a pattern online. Alas, the poor old ox was not nearly such a success as Jean Greenhowe’s donkey - instructions were not nearly so clear and explicitly detailed.

IMO JG’s patterns are pretty much foolproof - as long as you follow them to the letter.

Primrose53:

We have a knitted nativity as well (lovingly knitted by my late mum).
A few years ago I streamlined all of my decorations and decided the knitted nativity took up too much room. I didn't want to get rid of it and instead took it into work where we set it up on the windowsill of the office window which had a lot of passing footfall.
I've changed jobs and offices since and had forgotten all about my nativity set until it turned up in my new office this week with a note from my former colleagues.
I've brought it home again because I now have a grandson who I think might like it!!

I have to say the thing I like about my paper nativity set is that it has the full works, including shepherds, lambs, an oxen, a donkey, three Kings with their gifts, and even a beautiful angel and the star attached to the roof of the stable. It has it all. So when I think of replacing it with a proper nativity set I usually think ''where's the angel?' or 'where's the shepherds and lambs?' because they are often not included. So I end up using the paper one each year.

Gwenisgreat

Anyone who is offended by what we did in Great Britain - should stay out of the country!! That's, of course, if they are genuinely offended!!

I think you will find that most people of different faiths or coming from different countries don't give any negative thoughts to us celebrating Christmas, Easter or any other Christian tradition. It is mainly the people in charge who decide that it would be offensive and as most of these are white people who originate here, it is them being terribly politically correct who influence the decision.

What a lovely thread. I have been admiring your work, Witzend, and been warmed by your post, Dickens.
My nativity set story relates to the simple wooden set bought when my youngest daughter was three. She was disgruntled with baby Jesus being made from one piece of wood, incorporating the cradle, which meant that he couldn't be removed.
One morning we came down to find that the wooden holy infant had been replaced with a lego baby..
The baby was never found and the likely culprit did not confess. Thirty plus years later, the set comes out and the grandchildren delight in hearing how naughty Someone was.

I saw the first shop window one here today. They used to appear slightly incongruously in every single shop in early December but the custom seemed to get less. Fortunately it seems to be increasing again.

I’ve got a very old plaster of paris one that belonged to my grandmother. The dog ate baby Jesus but we were able to find a replacement! The one we use now is glass and was part of a window display that we saw when we first came out here. The shopkeeper was amazed I wanted to buy it but willingly got it out of the window and wrapped it up.

Gwenisgreat

Anyone who is offended by what we did in Great Britain - should stay out of the country!! That's, of course, if they are genuinely offended!!

I'm sorry I don't understand what you mean.

What did we do please?

Witzend

*Primrose53*, re the time they take, after seeing one of mine on display for the Christmas raffle, a parent at the Gdcs’ primary asked whether she could pay me to make one for her.

I just said I was very sorry but I didn’t make them to sell. I didn’t add that given the sheer amount of time, I’d want to charge about £500! I’ve made one every year since the first, and usually start in around June, doing them in stages, in between other projects.

I volunteered in a charity shop for nearly 15 years. Just one morning a week starting in approx. 1996. We had ladies who knitted these beautiful nativity sets and we would put them in the window to sell and even back then could get £50 for a set. Then we changed to raffling a set and we got several hundred pounds each time. Such kind ladies making them for us.

I have a very small nativity set, always put under the tv.
The other year we couldn't find baby Jesus, so I made Him from marzipan, wrapped in some tissue. The next year we had a competition to make the best one. It was very disappointing when the original plastic one was found wedged in a tiny tree, it had been there all the time, unnoticed. We just had to eat that year's contestants...

Do any of the people who blame everythingon the Daily mail, actually read the paper regulalry?

If you do not, how come you know so much about what it reports and how?

I do read it, also the i, Observer and Daily Telegraph on Saturdays. I believe that one's reading of the media should be comprehensive not limited to just those papers that share your views.

Nonsense to say we can't have public displays for fear of offence, there are always plenty, methinks you've been reading the Daily (hate) Mail

I lived in Germany for 5 years and bought a beautiful wood nativity there. It must be 40 years old. It comes out every Christmas and my 8 yr old granddaughter loves moving the figures around.

I've got that one. I used it at Christmas with each of the classes I taught.
I made a nativity set from a kit where the characters are printed on fabric that you cut out, sew together and put stuffing in. We mislaid the baby Jesus many years ago, but in his place my son put the knitted animal gift from his reception teacher at Christmas .....a baby worm/caterpillar which sits on a brown rectangle "earth" that doubles as a blanket !!!

OP if you want to buy a nativity set search online - there are plenty for sale there, especially if you not only search using the words nativity set, but use Weinachtkrippen or Portales de Bélen as search terms as well.

You can find a very large range from the exhoribantly expensive to the ridiculously cheap.

Amazon.de is a possiblity too.

Gwenisgreat / I don’t understand why you link nativities with ‘what we did in great Britain’

My only understanding of sensitivities is that people of Muslim faith don’t welcome what they see as idols - thst is religious figures. I’m in an area with a large Muslim community / all our schools display nativities no probs

I am a practicing Christian and love Nativity sets as a reminder of what Christmas is all about. Witzend, your knitted set is absolutely beautiful - you are really talented at knitting. A couple of years ago, I treated myself to a knitted set from eBay and it takes centre stage in the decorations.
When I had just started school, we had a Nativity set at school and I loved it. We had never had one at home as we were non-conformists and I don’t think it was a common thing for non-conformists to have in their homes in those days, although it is now. My mother made a set with the stable made from a shoebox and straw from the little boxes that came with the models from a certain marmalade manufacturer. Baby Jesus and the manger came from my dolls’ house and the animals from my toy farm. She made other characters from bits and bobs and the star was made from tinfoil. This Nativity set was brought out every year for the next fifteen years or more. It meant so much to me.