BETHLEHEM, West Bank — Jack Giacaman enjoys telling customers that every day is Christmas in his shop, which features hand-crafted olive-wood Nativity scenes, camels and crosses. But this year ...

As Christmas approaches, the tradition of setting up a nativity scene becomes a cherished activity ... Each nativity set is meticulously carved from olive wood by Christian families in Bethlehem.

On Saturday, Pope Francis unveiled a nativity scene in the Vatican’s Paul VI ... The practice of olive wood carving is a pillar of the community’s economic and cultural identity dating back ...

Around the corner from the spot where Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a Catholic family runs a small workshop carving Nativity scenes out of olive wood. The Zakharia Brothers woodworking factory has ...

The Nativity scene unveiled on Saturday ... Carving statues and religious scenes from olive wood has been a pillar of the Holy Land’s economic and cultural identity for centuries.

A Christian businessman from Bethlehem who runs a store that sells hand-carved olive wood Nativity scenes said on a visit to Birmingham this week that tourism in the birthplace of Jesus has dried ...

A Nativity scene made by artisans from Bethlehem was ... which he said have deep roots in the area, especially olive wood and mother-of-pearl. The round, almost 10-foot-high installation ...

The classic nativity ... on the scene, handmade Fetish Bears from New Mexico, and scrap metal twisted into Mary’s likeness, were a sharp contrast to classically carved motifs out of olive ...

Ayman Oghanna for NPR Jack Giacaman enjoys telling customers that every day is Christmas in his shop, which features hand-crafted olive-wood Nativity scenes, camels and crosses. But this year ...