African American
Nativity
A numbered Hallmark series presenting the Nativity story through African American figures — beginning with the Holy Family in 1995, adding a shepherd in 1996, and welcoming the Magi in 1997 and 1999. Each piece hand-crafted, each figure given a name, the complete sacred scene assembled figure by figure across five years. Mary, Joseph, and the Christ Child. The Kindly Shepherd. King Noor. King Malh. The story told with care.
The Nativity Story in African American Figures — Assembled Year by Year
The African American Nativity series launched in 1995 with Patricia Andrews' "Heaven's Gift" — a two-piece set featuring Mary holding the Christ Child and Joseph, 4½ inches tall, the Holy Family rendered in African American figures. It was part of a broader Hallmark tradition of ornaments representing diverse communities that began in 1979, when Hallmark first introduced ornaments of special interest to people of color into the Keepsake line. The African American Nativity series took that tradition and applied it to one of the most theologically significant subjects in the Christmas ornament catalog: the Nativity itself.
Each subsequent entry added a figure to the scene. In 1996, the Kindly Shepherd — the shepherd of Luke's Gospel who was keeping watch over his flocks when the angel appeared — joined the Holy Family. In 1997, King Noor arrived as the First King, beginning the procession of the Magi. In 1999, King Malh — the Third King — completed the series' known figures. Each king is given a specific name: Noor (Arabic for "light"), Malh. The named Magi are a tradition rooted in early Christian writing; the Bible does not actually name the three wise men but later tradition gave them names. Hallmark's choice to give each king a distinct name rather than a generic title reflects the series' care — these are not anonymous figures but individuals whose arrival at the manger is treated as specific and significant.
"And when they had come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down and worshiped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh."
— Matthew 2:11, King James Version · The arrival of the Magi — the Nativity moment honored by King Noor (#3, 1997) and King Malh (#4, 1999)
Tips for the Collection
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01Display all four figures together as a unified Nativity scene. The African American Nativity series was designed to be assembled across multiple years into a complete scene — the Holy Family at the center, the shepherd to one side, and the Magi arriving from the other. When all four entries are grouped on a mantel, a tabletop, or a wide branch of the tree, they form the complete Nativity composition that the series was always building toward. The #1 two-piece set (Mary and Joseph) anchors the arrangement.
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02The 1995 "Heaven's Gift" is a two-piece set — keep both pieces together. The founding entry contains Mary holding the Christ Child and Joseph as two separate ornaments packaged together. Both pieces are part of the same entry and should be kept and displayed together. They are the foundation of the Nativity scene; the shepherd and kings arrange themselves around the Holy Family.
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03Consider displaying on a mantel or tabletop surface rather than on the tree itself. As a Nativity scene, these figures are most meaningful when displayed together at a level where they can be seen as a composition — all figures visible and arranged in relation to one another — rather than distributed across a tree. A mantel, a side table, or a dedicated nativity surface allows the scene to read as the complete sacred gathering it was designed to be.
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04All 4 African American Nativity entries — #1 through #4 · 1995–1999 — are at Already Christmas. The Holy Family, the Kindly Shepherd, King Noor, and King Malh. The complete scene as presented in this series. Patricia Andrews, all four figures. All here.
Every African American Nativity Keepsake
Mary · Joseph · Shepherd · King Noor · King Malh. Patricia Andrews. Click any figure to shop.
Patricia Andrews in 1995 — Mary holding the Christ Child, Joseph beside her, 4½ inches tall, the Holy Family in African American figures, the first entry in a numbered Nativity series. The Kindly Shepherd arriving in 1996. King Noor — First King, "light" — coming with his gifts in 1997. King Malh — Third King — completing the procession in 1999. Four figures. The scene assembled year by year, figure by figure, the complete sacred story. All four here.
✦ Part of our Collection: Hallmark Nativity & Sacred Series, Explored ✦