St. Francis of Assisi is credited with staging the first Nativity scene in 1223. The only historical account we have of Francis’ Nativity creche comes from The Life of St. Francis of Assisi by St. Bonaventure, a Franciscan monk who was born five years before Francis’ death.
According to Bonaventure’s biography, St. Francis received permission from Pope Honorious III to set up a manger with hay and two live animals—an ox and an ass—in a cave in the Italian village of Grecio. He then invited the villagers to come gaze upon the scene while he preached about the Nativity.
Soon, Nativity scenes became enormously popular.
Within a couple of centuries of Francis' inaugural display, Nativity creches had spread throughout Europe. It's unclear whether Francis used people or figures to stand in for Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, or if the spectators just used their imagination, but later Nativity scenes included both live figures and dioramas, and the cast of characters gradually expanded to include not only Mary, Joseph and the Holy Infant, but sometimes entire villages.
The familiar cast of characters we see today—namely the Magi and the shepherds—aren't accurate according to the Sacred Scriptures. Of the four gospels in the New Testament, only Matthew and Luke describe Jesus’ birth, the former focusing on the story of the Wise Men’s trek to see the Infant Christ, the latter recounting the shepherds’ visit to the manger where Jesus was born. Nowhere in the Bible do the shepherds and Magi appear together, and nowhere in the Bible are donkeys, oxen, cattle, or other domesticated animals mentioned in conjunction with Jesus’ birth. But early Nativity scenes took their cues more from religious art than from scripture.
After the Protestant Reformation, crèches became more associated with southern Europe (where Catholicism was still prevalent), while Christmas trees were the northern European decoration of choice (since Protestantism—and evergreens—thrived there).
Each year, as I unpack the Christmas figures of the creche which I have used for over 40 years, it is very much as though I am greeting old friends and familiar faces for yet another celebration of the Birth of Our Savior.
I pray your enjoy your celebration of the Birth of Jesus with all the traditions which help make this time of year so beautiful and special. God bless you.
According to Bonaventure’s biography, St. Francis received permission from Pope Honorious III to set up a manger with hay and two live animals—an ox and an ass—in a cave in the Italian village of Grecio. He then invited the villagers to come gaze upon the scene while he preached about the Nativity.
Soon, Nativity scenes became enormously popular.
Within a couple of centuries of Francis' inaugural display, Nativity creches had spread throughout Europe. It's unclear whether Francis used people or figures to stand in for Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, or if the spectators just used their imagination, but later Nativity scenes included both live figures and dioramas, and the cast of characters gradually expanded to include not only Mary, Joseph and the Holy Infant, but sometimes entire villages.
The familiar cast of characters we see today—namely the Magi and the shepherds—aren't accurate according to the Sacred Scriptures. Of the four gospels in the New Testament, only Matthew and Luke describe Jesus’ birth, the former focusing on the story of the Wise Men’s trek to see the Infant Christ, the latter recounting the shepherds’ visit to the manger where Jesus was born. Nowhere in the Bible do the shepherds and Magi appear together, and nowhere in the Bible are donkeys, oxen, cattle, or other domesticated animals mentioned in conjunction with Jesus’ birth. But early Nativity scenes took their cues more from religious art than from scripture.
After the Protestant Reformation, crèches became more associated with southern Europe (where Catholicism was still prevalent), while Christmas trees were the northern European decoration of choice (since Protestantism—and evergreens—thrived there).
Each year, as I unpack the Christmas figures of the creche which I have used for over 40 years, it is very much as though I am greeting old friends and familiar faces for yet another celebration of the Birth of Our Savior.
I pray your enjoy your celebration of the Birth of Jesus with all the traditions which help make this time of year so beautiful and special. God bless you.
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