A full 1,039 people, as well as a camel and several sheep, took part in a massive nativity scene filmed in Provo, Utah on Dec. 1 that reportedly broke the Guinness World Record.
The idea for the project came from Christian media group The Radiant Foundation, a sub-brand of the Deseret Management Corporation, which hoped to offer a holiday message that would "show the importance of Christ during Christmas," according to Radiant's digital strategist John Dye.
Radiant approached several Christian YouTube stars, including The Piano Guys, American Idol winter David Archuleta and Peter Hollens who agreed to take part in the scene and who were joined by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in a sweeping rendition of "Angels We Have Heard on High" for the scene. In addition to breaking the Guinness record for most people in a nativity scene, Dye said he also believed the event to have been one of the largest collaborations of YouTubers ever.
"Our goal is to give people the inspiration to share this with others and help them understand the importance of Christ," Dye told HuffPost over the phone.
The video was produced on "a shoestring budget," Dye said, and was dependent on the help of volunteers, many of them students at the nearby Brigham Young University. Dye worried the weather on the December filming date might deter volunteers, but said it ended up being unseasonably warm. This, as well as other near-mishaps, convinced him that "divine intervention" was at play in the production.
"We really feel that this was something that needed to be done," Dye told HuffPost. "We felt inspired to do it and we saw inspiration all along the way in the hand of the Almighty in this process."
Related
Before You Go
