Up to 250 creches on display at Bangor church

BANGOR – It’s the simplest pleasures we remember during the Christmas season – the spicy breath of fresh-cut balsam, the day-by-day suspense of the Advent calendar, the suppressed hilarity of wrapping lumpy packages behind the dining room door.

Many households include the magical ritual of setting up the miniature manger scene, or creche.

These tiny tableaux depicting the humble circumstances of Jesus’ birth come in all materials and styles. What they have in common is their role in setting the mood for Christmas, in reminding Christians of the essence and simplicity of the holiday.

Catholic or Protestant or other, Christian or not, this year you can treat yourself and your family to the third creche exhibit arranged by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Grandview Avenue. Close to 250 creches will be on loan from all over this part of Maine. Last year’s event drew nearly 1,000 visitors.

“We weren’t really expecting that many,” said organizer Michelle Thomas, “but it all flowed remarkably smoothly. It never felt crowded. This year we’ll be ready for even more.”

Thomas said the display seems to answer a critical need in the community. As the secular pressures of getting and spending consume more and more of our time and energy, she said, people appreciate opportunities to stop and recall the meaning of the holiday and the simplicity of the message of the Nativity.

“Many of the comments in our guest book last year reflected the sense that Christmas is way too commercial now. I really do feel people have a need for peace in their lives and for the things they remember as a child,” Thomas said.

“This is not an opportunity to proselytize,” she said. Instead, she sees the creche exhibit as a way to establish common ground during a meaningful season.

“This is a quiet, reflective event,” she said, “a gift from our church to the community.”

The display hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday.