In celebration of Christmas, I'm adding four new nativity scenes from the Sacred Art Pilgrim Collection to the Before the Marvel of This Night page in the Themes of Faith section. They are all carved from wood by art-makers from around the globe. German-born Folk Artist Gunther Kiel now carries on the creche-making traditions of his homeland on a farm in New York, creating 18-piece wood cut-out Nativity sets whose figures can be arranged to depict different episodes from the Christmas Story from the Annunciation to the Flight into Egypt. The Three Wise Men take pride of place in the Nativity display of Guatemalan Folk Artist Jose Canil Ramos, as they do in much seasonal art from the Hispanic world. Idaho Woodworker Brent Gerdes, known as "Chicken Guy" for his whimsical poultry pieces, offers us a child-friendly, minimalist manger scene in blocks from recycled wood. The most unusual offering is a carved wood triptych (above) from the workshop of Chinese Christian Artist Zhang Wan Long in Zhejiang province. The Chinese inscription on the two central pillars quotes Isaiah 9:2 (KJV): "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined." May the Light of Love also shine upon you this Advent season! (John Kohan)