This is the third year we have been to this festival.  There is a programme of music to go along with the display of nativity scenes and various choirs, musicians and groups come along and play for the those in attendance.  As we arrived this year a group of women danced and sang to traditional Hawaiian music. Later there was a harpist and then a soloist sang to piano accompaniment.  All very accomplished and provided a beautiful backdrop of seasonal ambiance.

I have never seen so many different sets before we came here.  I also was not familiar with the term of creche to describe a ‘tableau of Christ’s Nativity’.

This year one of the quizzes was to find the different materials that had been used and we enjoyed wandering slowly so that we could spot the various ones on our list.  At the base of the tables there is continuous row of poinsettias which circle the room.

Mice, snowmen, bears and leprechauns bringing gifts of a rainbow, gold and potatoes.

Beautiful pieces of stained glass, an angelic hymn book and a rotating scene provided by the movement of a windmill.

These knitted figures remind me of the ones we have hosted when they have been on a tour of homes during Advent prior to returning to church at the Christingle service.

Different countries, different materials, different sizes and shapes all telling the same story.  The miracle of the birth of a baby boy, wrapped in swaddling bands, lying in a manger.

Creche Festival 2015