While they were there, the time came for the
baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in
cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available
for them. (Luke 2:6-7 New International Version)
The inception of the nativity scene is credited to St.
Francis of Assisi. In 1223, St. Francis got 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 view the scene
while he talked about the birth of Jesus.
The idea of staging a nativity scene grew from there,
spreading throughout Europe over the next couple of centuries.
The traditional nativity includes not only Mary, Joseph
and the baby Jesus, but also an angel, the shepherds, the three wise men, as
well as sheep, donkeys, and cattle. In the Biblical account of the birth of
Jesus, however, only the shepherds made an appearance. The wise men didn’t show
up for weeks, perhaps even months, long after the new parents had left the
stable and settled elsewhere.
I suppose people put the barnyard animals in the nativity
scene because if that’s where the Babe was born, surely the animals would be
looking on. None of them are mentioned of Matthew or Luke, the only books of
the Gospel which talk about Jesus’ birth. In Isaiah, the book of the old
Testament which prophesizes this event, we do find this verse which sure makes
it sound like at least one cow and one donkey were there.
The ox knows its master, the donkey its
owner’s manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” (Isaiah
1:3 New International Version)
In general, I don’t think it’s worth it to get bogged
down in the details. The important thing to remember is that Jesus was born in
the most humble of settings, declaring that He is King of all mankind.
Wishing you and yours
many blessings this Christmas.
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| Is this too many? |
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| I'm pretty sure the original "stable" looked nothing like this. |
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| Not quite sure who all these characters are. |
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| I really don't know who or what these characters are. |
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| I'm sure this are supposed to be sheep, but don't they look like seals? Is this where Christmas Seals comes from? |
1 comment:
You know how many I have, so I would never say you have to many. 7 at last count.
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