A traditional nativity scene from Naples, Italy

Christian nativity scenes, in two dimensions (drawings, paintings, icons, etc.) or three (sculpture or other three-dimensional crafts), usually show Jesus in a manger, Joseph and Mary in a barn (or cave) intended to accommodate farm animals. A donkey and an ox accompany them; besides the necessity of animals for a manger, this is an allusion to Isaiah: "the ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib; but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider" (Is. 1:3). The ox and donkey represent the people of Israel and the Gentiles respectively in such depictions. The scene sometimes includes the Magi or Three Wise Men (with or without a camel), shepherds and sheep, angels, and the Star of Bethlehem. The traditional scenes that show the shepherds and Magi together combine two different events in the Gospels: (1) the shepherds are informed by angels that "for to you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord" (Matthew 2:10-11). (2) "When [the Magi] saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him" (Luke 2:11)

Herdsman

Many churches and individuals leave the manager empty (without the baby Jesus) until Christmas Day to reflect that Jesus has not yet been born before then.

St. Francis and the origin of the Nativity scene

After his return to Italy from a voyage to Egypt and Acre in 1220, St Francis of Assisi introduced three-dimensional nativity scenes. Some accounts state he used statues or costumed people, but Thomas of Celano, the biographer of Francis tells how he only used a straw-filled manger (feeding trough) set between a real ox and donkey. According to Thomas, it was beautiful in its simplicity with the manger acting as the altar for the Christmas Mass. Francis's first biographer, Brother Tommaso da Celano, says that Francis was merely emulating what he had seen elsewhere in previous years when, in 1223, he asked his friend Giovanni Velita, a nobleman from the nearby town of Greccio, to construct a nativity scene, consisting of the straw-filled manger, ox and donkey, in a cave near the town of Greccio, for a Christmas Eve mass at which Francis preached.

In 1562 the Jesuits put up a crib in Prague which is considered the first crib of the modern kind.

Different traditions

The tradition was brought into Spain from Naples during the reign of Charles III of Spain.

Detail from a German nativity scene, the Holy Family and the three wise men

In Provence, in the South of France, nativity scenes are sometimes composed of hundreds of small painted clay figurines, called santons, representing all the traditional trades and professions of old Provence. Because of their cultural value the santons are often collected as art or craft objects, regardless of their possible use in a nativity scene.

Detail from a monumental nativity scene in Parets del Vallès, Spain

Detail from a Neapolitan presepe.

Traditional nativity scene in Portugal.

In Catalonia and the Basque Country, hiding in the background of the nativity scene is the caganer (Catalan "crapper"), a figure of a defecating man. There is no attempt at incorporating the figure into the narrative of the nativity; he is apparently a reflection of Catalan irreverence and scatological humour. Large public cribs often have a caricature of a disliked public figure as the caganer.

In the town hall of The Hague there is a yearly tradition to erect a life-size nativity scene with living and breathing animals and humans: namely donkeys, oxes and camels borrowed from a nearby zoo and as a stand in for the kings and shepherds.

Names in other languages

In Italy it is known as presepe or presepio; in Portuguese it is known as presépio, in Catalan as pessebre, in Spanish the name goes between El Belén (for Bethlehem, where Jesus was born) and also Nacimiento, Portal or Pesebre. The Maltese name is "Presepju" and the Czech names are betlém and jesli?ky. In Poland is was known as szopka, from Polish for "small crib", in Croatian language jaslice and in Belarus as batleyka, from Bethlehem. In Russian and Ukrainian culture there was a type of portable Christmas puppet theatre called vertep.In the Philippines, it is called a Belen (due to Spanish Influence).

a native Filipino nativity scene (center), A poster on the 12 days of Christmas(left) and a Christmas Tree(right)

See also

• Kraków szopka a Polish variant
• Fontanini Heirloom Nativity Sets
• Nativiti scene - Florece,FaQ - Video details

External links

• Official site of the 'Presepio Elettronico' in Rome. With a wery large forum and the section 'Tecniche di costruzione' with instructions for the achievement of special effects (in italian)
• Roman presepi
• The message of the child ? Original Nativity scenes made with natural stones
• The Neapolitan Crib (Presepe)
• International crèche school - History of Nativities and instructions for building them

• About Nativities - Describes how German-American Nativity displays grew into communities and landscapes that included many kinds of decorations.

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