One of my favorite childhood memories of Christmas is the decorations. Growing up, about mid-December, all these special decorations would come out of boxes and appear around the house. Ornaments for the trees, stockings for the mantle above the fireplace, pretty snow globes that sat on top of the book-shelves, and my mother’s nativity scenes.

My mother owns several nativity scenes. They come in different sizes, are made of different materials, and show different interpretations of what the holy family looks like. They also display a lifetime of faith — of gifts that were given and received, relationships and friendships between giver and recipient.

Each scene tells a story — not only the story of the first Christmas echoing through the centuries, but of the artist who created the scene in t…