Nativity from Ecuador

“This twelve-piece Nativity was made by an artist in Quito, the capital city of Ecuador. All of the human figures have oversized hands and feet. Mary and Joseph have halos, and an angel holds a crown intended for the baby Jesus—perhaps a symbol of spiritual kingship. The wise men arrive riding sidesaddle on animals that are probably meant to represent llamas, a species native to Ecuador.

During the Christmas season, public pesebre (manger) scenes are set up at various locations in Quito, some of them with live performers. People visit each other’s homes during La Novena—the nine days leading up to Christmas that help devotees prepare for the birth of Christ—to enjoy food and sing Christmas songs around the family’s Nativity scene. At midnight on Christmas Eve many people attend the Misa del Gallo (Mass of the Rooster, a Catholic Midnight Mass). According to tradition, on the night the baby Jesus was born a rooster crowed at midnight (and a crowing rooster is included in this Nativity scene). Worshipers often bring ceramic figurines of the Christ Child from their pesebre to the Mass so the priest can bless them.” (Ed and Kirsten Gyllenhaal, label text, “World Nativities 2020”)