by Anti-Racist Parent columnist Cloudscome
When I was a child we always put out the Creche a few weeks before Christmas. Part of the anticipation of the coming day was looking forward to nestling the tiny little baby Jesus in his spot in the manger. We read the stories of Elizabeth and Mary hearing news of their coming babies, we read about the trip to Bethlehem. We placed the donkey and the sheep off to the side of the stable, rehearsing the journey and imagining the desperation and exhaustion of the little family seeking shelter. More than just decorations, the Creche figures make that long ago story real.
The Christmas my son Buddy was two I decided to get him a child-friendly Creche set to help him learn the Christmas story and celebrate the birth of Jesus. I searched for something that was sturdy, beautiful, and included skin tones in shades of brown. So many of these sets have characters with ivory skin and that just doesn’t work for me. The one we had when I was growing up was resin and very European-looking. As an adult I am seeking something Middle Eastern; I want my Jesus and Mary dark and lovely.
It took a while but I finally found a set I liked. It turned out not to be so sturdy, as several of the figures have been broken or scratched. They don’t do so well being dropped or thrown. The donkey’s had its ear glued back on and there are a few chips off the wise men but all in all it is a pleasing set. The mama, papa, baby archetype is clearly central. Even Punkin, my youngest, gets the significance of that and comments on the baby first of all. The need for shelter, the interest and support of the animals, and the travelers journeying to visit the new family in a strange land are other themes I see played out. Lines and circles; seeking and finding.
For years I have been collecting nativity stories where the Holy Family is brown-skinned and dark-haired. Something about a blond, blue-eyed Christ child has always seemed “off” to me. It must be that the classical European artists rendered the Holy Family to look like themselves in order to place the story in a relevant framework. I want depictions that fit the reality of Jesus actual life as well as characters to which my brown-skinned sons can personally relate. Here are some of my favorites:
How Many Miles to Bethlehem? by Kevin Crossley-Holland, illustrated by Peter Malone. Here is the Biblical story of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem told poetically in the voices of each of the participants. Malone’s art glows with joy and vibrant life. The characters come in all skin tones, representing a wide variety of ethnicities. Mary is brown-skinned, with crimped hair and lovely wide eyes. The paintings are done in a Renaissance style.
One Winter’s Night by John Herman, illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. This is a refreshing and astonishing retelling of the nativity story. A cow named Martha is pregnant and wandering the wintery night seeking shelter. She finds it in a shed where Mary and Joseph are huddled. The Holy Family is brown-skinned and Mary is described as a young woman with dark hair, large dark eyes and simple dress. The narrator observes “…even in the hay she was radiant.” Joseph’s kindness and confidence guides both mothers and their newborn infants.
A Child is Born by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Floyd Cooper. I absolutely love this board book and so do Buddy Boy and Punkin. Punkin is old enough to expect and look forward to nightly story hour after his bath each day. I let him pick two board books from his shelf and this one is usually his first pick. We adore the brown baby Jesus. Floyd Cooper’s paintings of the Holy Family and the angels, shepherds and wisemen are just fabulous. Joseph is a handsome black man and Mary is a stunningly beautiful black woman. I do wish her hair were natural instead of straightened.
Room for a Little One by Martin Waddell, illustrated by Jason Crockcroft. I bought this book for my boys last year and it is one of my favorite Christmas stories. The illustrations are amazing. The story is predictable but satisfying. First the dog comes to the stable looking for a place to sleep and is welcomed by the ox. Then the cat comes, at first afraid but welcomed by the dog. Then a mouse, afraid but welcomed. (Because you see there is always room for a little one…) Mary and Joseph come walking up wearily. The ox welcomes them into their haven. “Tired donkey brought Mary into the stable. Joseph made her a warm bed in the straw, to save her from the cold of the night.” In the stable the light glows. Mary and Joseph show concern and pain on their faces before (during?) the birth; joy and devotion after. I love the way Joseph has kinky hair and pouty lips.
Little Owl and the Star; A Christmas Story by Mary Murphy. The Christ child’s birth told by a little owl that follows the star with the wise men, the shepherds and the angels. Baby Jesus’ smile blesses everyone with happiness and light.
Elijah’s Angel by Michael J. Rosen, illustrated by Aminah Brenda Lynne Robinson. An African American barber and wood carver befriends a young Jewish boy. The boy loves to visit the barbershop and watch him carve. One day Elijah, the barber gives him a carved angel for Christmas. Michael is afraid it is a graven image and God and his parents will be angry. His parents see it as an angel of friendship, however, and encourage him to respond by giving Elijah a menorah as a gift. Elijah puts it in the window of his shop and lights another candle every night. This is a beautiful story of friendship and reaching across the differences that divide us. I love how honest Michael is in his fear and misunderstanding. I love the wisdom and grace shown in Elijah’s wood carving artwork.
Tree of Cranes by Allen Say. Set in Japan, this is the story of a young boy learning of his mother’s Christmas tree tradition while recovering from an illness. This is one of the sweetest, most beautiful, and most peaceful Christmas books I know. The illustrations are magical. It doesn’t include the story of the Christ child but it is a lovely cross-cultural connection. The family is Japanese and the mother, who was born in California, shares her memories of past Christmas celebrations in order to share the joy with her son.
If you have religious Christmas books in your home what type of illustrations do you select? Can you add anything to my list?
Cloudscome has three sons. She is a library-media specialist and blogs about books and technology at http://awrungsponge.blogspot.com. Parenting, adoption and the rest of her life she blogs about at http://sandycovetrail.wordpress.com/.
This mirrors my own search as an adult and now as a parent. Raised Catholic, my mother and I both knew that a blonde-haired Jesus was pretty much an anachronism (even worse than a wooden stable to begin with, as most “stables” were caves at the time). As an adult, I’ve looked for nativities in a darker hue. Currrently I have two, one roughly carved in wood with decidedly ambiguous facial features for everyone, and a stuffed cloth, child-safe, one in which everyone is decidedly European looking but at least has brown hair. A relative gave me an exquisite Lenox-type nativity, and it is a treasure… but it’s Judea By Way of Norway.
I haven’t done a big push for Christmas books yet, but I’ll be onthe lookout, especially if I get a giftcard this season. Thanks for the recommendations!
What a great list. Thanks, Cloudscome!
We have a little poem story of the Christmas Story put out by our denomination. It’s just called “My Christmas Story” and the Holy Family looks to be of Middle Eastern skin tones. The American Family celebrating Christmas around the table is black. That’s pretty great since we are not known to be a very diverse denomination. Perhaps we are trying to change that. I think that you can order it from our book store online, at Concordia.
It’s only $1.99. I must admit that the story is pretty lame though.
that link didn’t work. There needs to be a “preview” to posts.
Here’s the address to the book:
http://www.cph.org/cphstore/product.asp?category=96877&part%5Fno=591584&find%5Fcategory=96877&find%5Fdescription=Arch+Books%3A+Christmas&find%5Fpart%5Fdesc=
Is there really something ‘off’ or wrong with a European version of Christmas when in actually that is where the Christmas story originated? I understand that you may want a balanced perspective, as to why you may be looking for darker skinned figurines. But if you look into the history of Christmas, you will see that it was actually the birthday of Mithra, the sun god, not Jesus. It was the Roman/European adaptation of the story that made it about Jesus. Perhaps this is one of those occasions where you can darken the characters in the nativity scene to make it relevant to your family, include the European version, and explain to your child how different cultures have included Jesus in their lives and how they represent that, like the “Tree of Cranes” book you mentioned.
http://www.history.com/minisites/christmas
I have a book called The Christmas Star: The Story of Jesus’ Birth Illustrated with Soft Sculptures. Sculptures by Christine Potter. Story adapted from original text by Moira Butterfield. There isn’t a blonde head or blue eye in it! Mary’s skin is a little peachy/light olive with black hair, but Joseph is clearly brown, Middle Eastern. Baby Jesus resembles Mary. The other characters span shades from tan to dark brown. The soft sculpture uses felt, fabric, trims and then the characters are posed and photographed. It’s a lovely book that we read to our kids just before opening gifts.
Thank you for these titles. We have “A Child is Born,” and reading it is part of our Christmas Eve tradition, but we enjoy it throughout the year as well.
Thank you. This was a very practical helpful post for the holiday season.
I need to look at my books, I have quite a few kids books on the story. I have never looked specifically for the pictures as much as stories that would hold my kids attention. I am guessing that the pictures are true to form because my 5 year old’s pretty observant about that sort of thing. He was the one who mentioned that Dr. Seuss’ people are all “white”.
i have a few of the books on your list, but thank you for listing others to add to my collection.
i am white, but i have always been frustated with the imagery of the “european Christ”, knowing fully well that he was born into a middle eastern race.
my mother collects nativities, some traditional, some “cute”, and some very abstract, in materials ranging from white porcelin to dried bannana leaves!!
Thanks for all your comments and suggestions. I am sorry to be responding so late; still catching up on holiday things here. It’s great to see all these titles and nativity sets mentioned.
I am white and hate the Swedish Barbie nativities too….got my daughter A Child is Born this year and we love it. Thank you for an additional list of great resources.
If your ant-racist, here’s a nativity scene you can enjoy:
http://www.blackshearonline.com/cgi-bin/globaltemplate.cgi?id=17
Let me know what you think.
Denise Ramirez
Hi Denise, I am white and I think that this Thomas Blackshear African-American nativity is beautiful!
The detailed work is tremendous and I just purchased TheHolyFamily and the Gabriel angel for myself and I purchased a set for our church.
If we say we are not racist and try to understand other views that are different than our own, one of the best places to start is in the church.
I only wish that all four years of the series where available now so that we could have the full manger scene to display in our children’s center.
Anyway, that you Thomas Blackshear for this beautiful representation of the birth of Christ.
Mary Simon
OMG – thank you Denise for linking the black nativity. It’s beautiful work, and it also solves one of my pet peeves – all the nativities I’ve seen have Mary kneeling.
Excuse me? I was lucky to be walking after delivery of my daughter, and that was hours later. I sure wasn’t up to any kneeling! Hooray for a portrait that looks like a real loving family (including a spouse helping out a resting new mom).
This is ridiculous. Since when is elimination of European people considered fighting racism?
Christianity has been the prominent religion of Europe for centuries and it only makes sense that European artists have pictured Christ as such.
You typically don’t hear of African or Jewish holidays being shown pressured to include blonde hair and blue eyes, so why should Christianity face the same?