Christmas Around the World

By Rosalyn Collings

Children all over the world love Jesus Christ. They know that He is their Savior and that He loves them. Every year at Christmastime, children around the world celebrate His birth.

Each year, Church workers set up beautiful Nativity scenes on Temple Square in Salt Lake City. Hundreds of hours were spent creating realistic figures of Baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and the Wise Men to place on the lawn near the temple. These figures help us remember that the birth of Christ in Bethlehem was a real event and that real people, not so very different from us, honored Him after His birth.

Last year, four smaller Nativities surrounded the reflection pool near the Salt Lake Temple. Each of them came from a different area of the world. They were designed especially for children, to show how children all over the world imagine the Savior’s birth. The smaller nativities will be on display this year near the Relief Society Building.

Hundreds of little lanterns are set up on a plaza near the temple. The glow from these lanterns reminds us that Jesus Christ is the Light of the World. The lanterns bear the words joy, peace, hope, light, and love in many languages.

Even though the Nativities show different representations of Christ, and the lanterns are decorated with words from different nations, they all tell the same story: Jesus Christ was born to be the Savior of the world. His birth, His life, and His Atonement bring joy, peace, hope, light, and love to all people.

Photo at left by Craig Dimond

Photos by Kelly Larsen

Mary and Joseph, in traditional Japanese clothing, watch over Baby Jesus.

Figures in colorful fabric from Africa worship the Savior at His birth.

These wood sculptures were carved by a member of the Church in Poland.

These Native American figures are wearing costumes of the Tlinget Tribe in Alaska. They have come to bring gifts to the Baby Jesus.