ADVENT CALENDAR 2025

December 24

BOSTON CHURCH NATIVITY

Painted cast stone
Early 20th century

This cast-stone Nativity, made in the early part of the 20th century, was purchased in the 1970s from a Roman Catholic church in Boston, Massachusetts, by Antonio Morales. Morales and his family lived in Lynn, a suburb of Boston. Each year, during the first week of December, he would build a wooden stable for these figures on the family’s front porch.

For forty years, Morales and his sons hauled these large figures—with a combined weight of approximately half a ton—up the stairs from their basement. A spotlight, symbolizing the Star of Bethlehem, beamed down from above, illuminating the Christ Child. Fresh straw was provided for the manger each year. The display always remained on their front porch until the weekend following Epiphany (January 6), traditionally the day on which the wise men arrived bearing gifts for the Christ Child.

According to Dwayne Morales, one of Antonio’s sons:

“I am beginning to see just how much my Father always appreciated this set and how much time we spent together every year, sharing hour upon hour, talking together, laughing, and putting it together for the love of the final product. ‘A picture in time’ of how the Three Kings or Wise Men, ventured following the North Star to meet Jesus, the Son of God, who had been born in a stable in Bethlehem so many miles away from them, to bring him gifts out of respect and faith that he was truly the Son of God.”

Glencairn Museum’s World Nativities exhibition runs from November 28, 2025, to January 25, 2026. Visit us at Follow the Star: A 2025 Advent Calendar.