President-elect Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, are appearing in Nativity scenes in Italy alongside Baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the Three Wise Men.
“The chosen one,” as you may recall Obama being called in a viral video campaign, during the election, was chosen by Naples craftsmen to appear alongside their traditional handmade Nativity figurines which are big business in the Italian city.
The production of handmade figurines for nativity scenes has been a tradition for centuries, and the Italian craftsmen provide a light-hearted approach, including replicas of current newsmakers.
The owner of the Christmas market where the figurines are sold, says the Obama figurines are very popular with customers both in Italy and from the United States.
Other popular Nativity figurines this year are French President Nicolas Sarkozy, his wife Carla Bruni and Italian President Silvio Berlusconi.