Familiar nativity scene depicted 350 ways

Susan Greeley doesn't know how her love for nativity scenes grew into a collection of more than 350 nativity sets from around the world.

"I didn't set out to collect nativity scenes," said Greeley of Oak Park, who bought her first nativity set in 1980. "There was no motivation. I don't know how this happened."

That collection is on display this weekend at St. Matthew Center for Health, 1601 N. Western Ave., Park Ridge. The exhibit is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today and Sunday.

Greeley said her fascination began when she came across a brightly painted Columbian nativity set made of dough while on a trip to South America.

"I had just never seen anything like it," said Greeley, who grew up in a Lutheran household and was familiar with only European depictions of the traditional manger scene.

Over the years, Greeley has picked up many nativity scenes while traveling for work as a television producer for the national office of the Lutheran Church. But many of the sets in Greeley's collection were gifts from friends who saw her pieces displayed during her Christmas parties.

Greeley said in the eight years that she has shown her collection at St. Matthews, she has always left with more pieces than she arrived with.

The collection includes nativity scenes from every continent, depicting Jesus Christ and the holy family as natives of whichever region the artwork originates from such as China, Vietnam, India, Africa, or Alaska.

"It's amazing (to see) just the breadth of what artists can do in terms of interpreting the nativity," Greeley said. "From a Christian perspective, while Jesus, the man, was clearly Middle Eastern, Christ is universal - and it's clear that the story is for everyone."