SHAWNEE ON DELAWARE, Pa. — In a room just beyond the main entrance of Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort near Marshalls Creek, you'll find quite the holiday display — more than 100 crèches from around the world.
"It's really nice," said Shawnee's Jeromy Wo. "It's a good reminder, and it's really cool to see the interpretation of the Christmas story from other countries."
The nativity scenes are on loan to owners of the inn from a family member, who has been collecting the displays for quite some time. Shawnee has been showing off the scenes since 2012.
"Mrs. Kirkwood's sister, in her travels — some people collect shot glasses, others collect bobbleheads — she collects manger scenes from around the world. This is about half of her collection. She lives in Michigan and stores the rest of them with her in Michigan."
This nativity display is primarily for guests, but it is open to the public. Just be sure to wear your mask, social distance, and the best thing to do is call ahead to make sure it's not too busy.
Ireland, Japan, and the United States are just some of the countries you will find on display, each with a different design.
"You can't help but have a favorite. Mine is Cambodia; it's really neat. You look at each one of these manger scenes, and it gives you a sense of what the country has at their disposal to create something like this," Wo said.
It doesn't cost anything to come and see the nativity scenes, but donations may be made to Hands-On Disaster Relief.
The display will be up through January 4 at Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort in Smithfield Township.