Visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Christmas tree and Neapolitan Baroque Creche is a religious experience, but you don’t have to be religious to appreciate this amazing exhibit that occupies the Medieval Sculpture Hall every holiday season. The tree alone, an artificial but fresh-looking 20-foot blue spruce, would be enough to attract attention. What captivates visitors, however, are the many intricately detailed figures that decorate the tree and the surrounding landscape.

There are the major religious figures—the baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph—as well as the three wise men, shepherds, and a collection of animals, everything from donkeys to camels. While the main event happens in front of the tree, all sides of the exhibit bring something of wonder. There are townspeople and peasants on their way to witness the birth of the boy king. And there are some who, perhaps unaware of what is happening, will soon know and be touched by the events. The tree itself is decorated with about fifty angels, wings unfurled, garments billowing, trumpeting the birth of Christ.

This beautiful display is a gift to the museum from Loretta Hines Howard, who began collecting crèche figures in 1925. According to the museum, Howard thought up the idea of bringing together the Roman Catholic custom of elaborate Nativity scenes with the tradition, largely brought by the Protestant people of Northern Europe, to decorate Christmas trees. The combination proved to be brilliant. Beginning in 1964, Howard began to donate her crèche figures. After Howard’s death in 1982, her daughter, Lin, who worked with her mother on the annual installation, continued her mother’s work. And Lin’s daughter, Andrea Selby Rossi, also became part of the process.

Saint Francis of Assisi is credited with the popular Christmas custom of restaging the Nativity. In the 18th Century, local families in Naples took creating the Nativity to new levels, using their considerable skills in crafts to bring this religious event to life. The Metropolitan Museum certainly benefits from this long ago competition.

The figures themselves range in height from six to 20 inches. Their bodies are formed from woven twine and wire and heads and shoulders are modeled in terracotta and polychrome. The costumes, often sewn by women from the villages, use luxurious fabrics and often include jewels, embroidery, and golden threads. Small elements make each figure realistic. Each viewing will uncover fascinating details.