By Della Hasselle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER EAST SIDE — The Metropolitan Museum of Art unveiled its time-honored Christmas Tree and Neapolitan Nativity scene Tuesday.
The installation, which features a nativity scene set in 18th-century Naples and a 20-foot spruce adorned with some 50 suspended angels, has been delighting locals and tourists for 53 years.
"I've been completely amazed with the expressions on their faces," Denver resident Hjourdis Hawkins, 82, said about the figurines Tuesday. "They've got this, 'Wow! I didn't know this was going to happen!' look on their faces. It gives you goosebumps."
Typical of an Italian nativity, the scene boasts the ruins of a Roman temple, quaint houses and the procession of the three Magi. There are also the adoring shepherds, of course, followed by a crowd of peasants and townspeople and an assortment of animals — including sheep, goats, horses, a camel and an elephant.
Loretta Hines Howard, a avid collector of Neapolitan figurines, first presented her Christmas display at the Met in 1957.
Loretta's daughter, Linn Howard, worked with her mother for many years on the installation, until Loretta's death in 1982. This year, Linn's daughter, Andrea Selby joins her mother in the family tradition.
Starting Nov. 30, dramatic tree lighting ceremonies will take place Tuesdays through Sundays at 4:30 p.m., with additional lightings on Fridays and Saturdays at 5:30 and 6:30 p.m.
"It's exquisite," Trenton resident and environmental lawyer Roxeanne Jayne Bernstein said Tuesday.
"All the costumes — it's absolutely inspiring if you're a Christian, but it will be an inspiration if you're not, too," she said.
"It's an amazingly beautiful thing to see."
The exhibit will run through Jan. 6 in the Medieval Sculpture Hall at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Ave.
