Love of the Christmas story started collection of figures

By LINDA M. LINONIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- Jean DiVincenzo put her heart into collecting when she was captivated by the simple but engaging appearance of a Mexican Nativity scene.
The form of baby Jesus resembles a cross, and figures of Mary and Joseph, the Three Wise Men and animals are plain but charming. "I was touched by the scene," DiVincenzo said.
She bought that Nativity on a trip to Mexico with her husband, Ron. Since 1982, she has collected Nativity scenes of all sorts.
"I always loved the Christmas story. There was just something about that Mexican Nativity scene that was so endearing," she said. "After that, I just started noticing the differences in how Nativity scenes were depicted. The uniqueness impressed me."
Various media
The DiVincenzo collection features Nativities in such media as cloth, ceramic, wood, pewter, terra cotta and fine china. The figures range from primitive styles to those with finely honed details. Some look realistic; others are abstract or stylized; still others have an ethnic look. Colors cover the spectrum from pastel to bold. DiVincenzo bought many of the Nativities; others have been gifts from family and friends.
Matching the collection's diversity are DiVincenzo's artistic arrangements throughout her home.
"I think I have around 150," Mrs. DiVincenzo said. Each one, she said, is a "hurrah" for the birth of Christ and its global significance. She acknowledged being concerned about challenges to community Nativity scenes and asked, "Isn't that the reason for Christmas?"
Setting up the Nativities occupied two days this year. Her husband, who is retired, pitched in by retrieving the boxes from the attic. Boxes labeled by room eased the sorting.
"This year I did it myself," said Mrs. DiVincenzo, who retired from the Diocese of Youngstown. Usually her daughters help, but circumstances prevented that this year. She keeps track of the groupings through photographs.
"I really enjoyed it. I took my time and thought about the people who gave me some of the Nativities," DiVincenzo said. "And thinking of them made it meaningful."
In the entrance hall of the DiVincenzo residence, a library table plays host to a large Nativity scene with figures from 7 to 12 inches tall in lustrous colors. The angel is particularly eye-catching.
In the living room, gold-toned metal Nativity figures, about 10 inches tall, command attention on the secretary. "I put them center stage," DiVincenzo said of the sparkling figures. The secretary's shelves hold Lladro figures of Mary and Joseph, whose soft colors shimmer. "I was looking for Baby Jesus and a friend found the infant [figure] in the Bahamas."
Even in beeswax
A small Nativity scene made of beeswax reveals how an unusual material can be molded into a scene. "I've had it about five years," DiVincenzo said. Grouped on a table are Nativity scenes in snow globes, and some are musical.
A large dining room table is the perfect showcase for a lace tablecloth with a Nativity scene depicted in a large oval in the center. "I saw it advertised a long time ago at Wal-Mart and went to look at it and liked it," DiVincenzo explained.
Displayed on the dining room sideboard are a pewter Nativity, a miniature set housed in a velvet case and a boxed set detailing the story of an Italian Nativity.
"This one is very special," DiVincenzo said of the Nativity the couple received after visiting her father's cousin in Italy for the first time and traveling to Barrea, her parents' ancestral home. "He had no idea I collected these. I keep it out year-round."
The family room stores some of the most treasured items in the DiVincenzo collection, including the Mexican set that started it all.
A simple but heart-warming pencil drawing of Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus was sketched by the couple's niece, Janice Sposato Stephenson of North Lima. "We used it as our Christmas card one year," Ron DiVincenzo said.
One of their three daughters, Carrie Worner of Copley, crafted a Nativity scene of clay. "She even put jewels on the Wise Men," Jean DiVincenzo said.
She positioned the Nativity used by her parents in the premier spot on the fireplace mantel, which is accented by white twinkling lights nestled in pine roping.
"It's probably about 75 years old. I remember putting it up as a child and it's always been part of the family. This year it went front and center," DiVincenzo said of the tribute to her mother, Marie DiLoreto, who died Dec. 28, 2004. "I think it had two palm trees at one time; now there's just one. But it adds to it," she said.
Under the Christmas tree, a Nativity set the couple bought when they were first married, 42 years ago, is the focal point. "Look at this ... 29 cents for the cow ... and made in Italy," she said of the set she bought at McCrory's.
Specialty sets
Shelving displays the Sugartown Precious Moments collection that Ron DiVincenzo bought for his wife. That grouping started with a Precious Moments Nativity set that went with a Sugartown church.
One of the most unusual Nativities is hand-carved out of a coconut shell, which forms the manger. "We were traveling in Hawaii and I hadn't bought anything because I was busy looking at the scenery that was so beautiful," Jean DiVincenzo said. "But I happened to see this and had to have it."
Unique materials are a molded sand Nativity that glitters, cornhusk Nativity figures; and a grapevine wreath with a Nativity scene at the center and a seed pod as a most unusual star above. Other unusual sets are a Native American scene with Mary and Joseph at their tepee cr & egrave;che, an Irish Mary and Joseph with green shamrocks on their cloaks and a black portrayal of the Holy Family positioned on a woven mat. There's also Nativity scenes depicted on pillows, tapestries and a cotton throw.
For Jean DiVincenzo, the value isn't in the price tag, it's in the story and the people connected to each Nativity in her collection.