For the Almeda family, Christmas would not be Christmas without the presepio -- Portuguese for the Christmas Nativity.

Every year, Mrs. Isabel Almeda lays out the scene around her Christmas tree.

And it becomes the focus of her family's Christmas celebrations and similar to many in homes all over the Azores.

The Nativity model includes over one hundred figures in scenes from a Nativity set in the Azores.

It includes the great mountain and a river running into the sea, which is a small pool filled with seashells.

There is a windmill on the mountain like the one in the Azores. Lower down, by the sea, there are fishermen casting out their lines into the ocean.

On the flat ground, there are houses, churches, processions, and ordinary people.

Chimneys smoke, houses are lit, the river flows with the help of a pump, and lights are everywhere.

Mrs. Almeda even made the windmill and one of the houses herself. Only a few of the figures were bought in Bermuda. She said she got most of them in the Azores, where they were made.

Setting up the scene took her an entire Sunday with her sister, Ms Anna Santos. The scene expands every year as she buys more figures.

The focus of the presepio is the creche, set upon a hill. The path leading to the creche is travelled by ordinary folk making journeys to see the Christ Child.

The Three Kings are moved toward the creche each day as Christmas comes closer reaching their destination on Christmas Eve.

That night, when the Mrs. Almeda and her family return from Midnight Mass, they sit around the presepio to open their presents.

Her five children, four boys and a girl, all love the presepio , and delight in showing it off to visitors, pointing out different parts of the setting.

Shawn, 7, said it was a very big part of Christmas for him.

The Almedas will have the presepio as a reminder long after most people have forgotten about Christmas as it is not taken down until February.

NATIVE NATIVITY -- Mrs. Isabel Almeda with her traditional Acorean Nativity scene, the presepio . She is sitting with children Jessica, 4, and Shawn, 7.