With the proliferation of Nativity scenes each year at the
Christmas season, it would be easy to suppose they have been around since that
first manger night in Bethlehem.
Not so.
With the proliferation of Nativity scenes each year at the
Christmas season, it would be easy to suppose they have been around since that
first manger night in Bethlehem.
Not so.
Indeed, the introduction of Nativity scenes into the Christmas
season did not begin until hundreds of years after Jesus birth.
However, in the ensuing centuries, they have become an unmistakable
– and creative – aspect of the annual Christmas holiday season.
St. Francis of Assisi is credited by most with the real introduction
of Nativity scenes in 1223 or 1224.
However, some histories cite the church of Santa Maria Maggiore
in Rome with creating the first such scene in the 10th century.
As the idea spread across Italy, churches reportedly began
constructing decorative scenes that included gold, silver and jewels.
Enter St. Francis.
Concerned with the trend to ornate representations of the nativity,
St. Francis decided to create a scene that was truer to the biblical account
of the birth of Jesus.
St. Francis reportedly created his first Nativity scene (which
he called a creche) on a hill just outside of Greccio, Italy. The scene was
assembled at the entrance to a cave.
A manger of hay held the baby Jesus, which was carved from
wood.
However, Mary, Joseph and the shepherds were portrayed by selected
villagers. Live animals also were used in the scene to give it authenticity.
Reports indicate St. Francis creche was so effective
that large numbers of people came to the site to kneel and pray before it.
The popularity of the simple creche scene soon surpassed that
of the more ornate representations.
Even today, many churches offer a “live Nativity,”
complete with people who fill the roles of needed characters and live animals.
Of course, one also still can find almost every kind of Nativity
scene desired – ornate or simple.
Since the days of St. Francis, the popularity of the scene
has exploded.
It is represented in a variety of forms and ways. It is incorporated
with modern features and used to make artistic statements at times.
Characters have been added. Backgrounds have been created.
Buildings have appeared in some scenes.
However, almost 800 years after introduction of his creche
in Greccio, Italy, the representation of St. Francis of Assisi remains a favorite.
Many say it also remains the purest statement of the first
Christmas, recorded in the Gospel of Luke – “While they were (in Bethlehem),
the time came for the baby to be born, and (Mary) gave birth to her firstborn,
a son. She wrapped him in strips of cloth and placed him in a manger, because
there was no room for them in the inn.”