Michael Zahs from Iowa is aiming to hold a world record for having the largest Nativity scene collection. Over 2,500 of the Nativity scenes that belong to Zahs, are currently on display at the Hills Bank in Washington, Iowa. The collection will be available for viewing till January 2023. Zahs has been collecting Nativity scenes since the 1950s and they are from over 100 different countries, many of which are handmade. He finds joy in the different details portrayed by each scene in relation to Jesus’ birth. According to the website of the Guinness World Records, the current record in relation to the largest Nativity scene collection is 1,802, which was set by Andrea Andrighetti in 2009.
Fox News reports:
One Iowa man who is attempting to set a world record for the largest collection of Nativity scenes has his collection on display at a bank in Washington, Iowa.
More than 2,500 Nativity scenes belonging to Michael Zahs are currently available for viewing at the Hills Bank’s Washington location, said local media outlet KCRG.
The display will run until January 2023.
“The bank’s happy to have it, it’s definitely unique and we look forward to having people in to look at it,” Janelle Johnson, vice president at the bank who helped put up the display, told Fox News Digital via email.
“It’s a great way to bring joy to folks in our community,” she added.
The display took six weeks to set up, Zahs told KCRG, noting that he began collecting Nativity scenes in the 1950s.
The scenes come from more than 100 different countries, he told that outlet.
Many of them are made by hand.
Zahs enjoys the way each scene contains different details relevant to the story of the birth of Jesus Christ, he also said.
“I like to have people come and look at the details,” he said to KCRG. “You can look at the exhibit for the scripture part of it, you can look at it for the materials, the artwork.”
“Some of them are very historical,” he added.
The current record for the largest collection of Nativity sets is 1,802, according to the Guinness World Records website.
That record was set on March 14, 2009, by Andrea Andrighetti.
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