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First United Methodist Church here in Tullahoma holds a gem of a museum in its basement. It houses a collection of nativity scenes. These nativities are from all over the world. Many of them are labeled with their country of origin and information about them. They are made of every imaginable material, from wood to stone, fabrics, paper, glass, shells, and plastics. There is a video that plays as touring goes on that discusses many of the individual nativities.

Many of the scenes incorporate regional clues such as style, decoration, local dress, and animals. The scene from South Africa, for instance, includes a giraffe. One from Ireland features Celtic style painting, as well as one from Russia. One of the scenes from the Philippines shows locals with gifts of fruit and firewood, and another is made of Capiz shell. Some are very simplistic in style while others are intricate and ornate.

Elements of the nativity carry many symbolic references. The halo often shown on both Mary and the baby Jesus depicts divinity. The baby is often portrayed with open arms as an invitation. The lamb signifies purity, and harkens to the death of Christ, as lambs were a common sacrifice of those times. Shepherds represent the common man. The wise men, or Magi, are sometimes portrayed as Oriental, European, and African as those were the three continents known at that time. In keeping with that theme were the animals that they rode, a camel, a horse, and an elephant.

The museum was started in 2005, and now has over 650 nativities. The collection is the work of many people , and is now curated by Emily Thoma and Jeanne Honeycutt. Many of the nativities are donated, and they attend to the displays. The collection has outgrown the basement space, so nativities are placed in other rooms in the church as well.

The public is welcome to visit the display any time the church is open throughout the day. The museum will also be open for tours Christmas Eve before and after the Candlelight Services at 4-6 p.m. It is an extraordinary experience to see how the whole world celebrates the birth if Christ.