Blue Monday: All God’s Children Nativity Series

Since the month of February is celebrated in the United States as Black Heritage Month, I will feature several ethnic sets from the nativity scenes collection which feature African-American designs.
The first one is from the All God’s Children line of decorative collectible figures created by Miss Martha. As you will see, several figures have blue in their costumes, an so, work out well for Blue Monday.

http://www.allgodschildren.biz/ gives a brief introduction to the line:
"It all began in 1985 when southern memory folk artist Martha Holcombe-Root, affectionately known as Miss Martha, sculpted her first black figurines and christened them with the name All God's Children®. Each figurine is faithfully reproduced from Miss Martha's original sculpts, individually handcrafted with a blend of crushed pecan shells and resin and is proudly made in USA. Each delightful sculpture has its own unique personality and story."

Miss Martha Originals.com gives more information about the artist and has a comprehensive catalog of her collectibles.

"All God’s Children" Nativity by Miss Martha’s Originals, Inc. The materials are resin and pecan shell flour, hand crafted in Gadsden, Alabama U.S.A.
These Black American figurines were designed by Martha Holcombe-Root and are signed and dated.
The realistically sculpted figurines represent school children who are participants in a nativity pageant led by their teacher Miss Sue. The characters shown in my photos are kids named,
Mary
Preshus as Baby Jesus
Joseph
Martin a king
Thomas a king
Stephen a shepherd
Nathaniel as drummer boy
Joy an angel
Niambi an angel

Just look at the happy expressions on the children’s faces as they participate in the pageant:

As with many collectible series, there is a charming story for each figurine. For example, Charles a king - the kneeling figurine in the center above:
"At dress rehearsal for the Christmas play, Mrs. Sue gave Charles a small gift box he was to carry for the baby Jesus. As he opened the lid to see what treasure was enclosed his heart sank because the box was empty. He quickly ran to his classroom where he tore up small pieces of paper and wrote the same word on each piece. He filled the box with ‘LOVE.’"

See more Blue Monday posts at Smiling Sally.