Nativity scene
In the Christian tradition, a nativity scene is the special exhibition, particularly during the Christmas season, of art objects representing the birth of Jesus. While the term "nativity scene" may be used of any representation of the very common subject of the Nativity of Jesus in art, it has a more specialized sense referring to seasonal displays, in particular sets of individual sculptural figures and props that are arranged for display.
Other characters from the nativity story, such as shepherds, sheep, and angels may be displayed near the manger in a barn intended to accommodate farm animals, as described in the Gospel of Luke. A donkey and an ox are typically depicted in the scene, and the Magi and their camels, described in the Gospel of Matthew, are also included. Many also include a representation of the Star of Bethlehem. Several cultures add other characters and objects that may or may not be Biblical.
The first nativity scene featuring live actors was organized by Saint Francis of Assisi in 1223 in the Italian town of Greccio. Francis had been inspired by his visit to the Holy Land, where he had been shown Jesus's traditional birthplace.
Distinctive nativity scenes and traditions have been created around the world, and are displayed during the Christmas season in churches, homes, shopping malls, and other venues, and occasionally on public lands and in public buildings. Nativity scenes have not escaped controversy, and in some countries their inclusion on public lands or in public buildings has provoked court challenges.
Origins and early history
The tradition of the nativity scene comes from Italy. One of the earliest representations in art of the nativity was found in the early Christian Roman catacomb of Saint Valentine. It dates to about AD 380. Another, of similar date, is beneath the pulpit in Sant'Ambrogio, Milan, carved on Stilicho's sarcophagus.The first seasonal nativity scene, which seems to have been a dramatic rather than sculptural rendition, is attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi. Its creation is described by Saint Bonaventure in his Life of Saint Francis of Assisi.
Saint Francis' manger scene is said to have been enacted at Christmas 1223 in a cave near the Sanctuary of Greccio in the Central Italy town of Greccio. The very small chapel where it is said to have taken place survives. The painting over its altar, and others before 1400, by Giotto at the Assisi Lower Church, and by Antonio Vite in Pistoia, depict Saint Francis kneeling and placing a small baby into a chest-like manger. Giotto adds a miniature ox and ass.
File:Santa Maria Maggiore 24.jpg|thumb|Crib set by Arnolfo di Cambio, Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome
A substantial set of stone figures by Arnolfo di Cambio, a leading sculptor of the day, was made for Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome around 1290. The surviving portion includes figures for the Holy Family, the Three Kings, and the ox and ass from the neck up.
The scene's popularity inspired much imitation throughout Christian countries, and in the early modern period sculpted cribs, often exported from Italy, were set up in many Christian churches and homes. These elaborate scenes reached their artistic apogee in the Papal State, in Emilia, in the Kingdom of Naples and in Genoa. In the tradition of the Moravian Church, nativity scenes have been the center of the Christmas putz, which is "built to tell the Good News of the coming of the Christ Child" and "is the Gospel in miniature from Isaiah’s prophecy and Mary’s annunciation to the visit of the wisemen and the flight into Egypt."
File:Nativity.png|thumb|right|Nativity of Cretan School by Victor circa 1676
For Moravian Christians, the nativity scene serves to celebrate "the story of the wonder of Christ’s birth so that the Son of God can be welcomed into the hearts of the home at the Christmas." By the end of the 19th century nativity scenes became widely popular in many Christian denominations, and many versions in various sizes and made of various materials, such as terracotta, paper, wood, wax, and ivory, were marketed, often with a backdrop setting of a stable.
Different traditions of nativity scenes emerged in different countries. Hand-painted santons are popular in Provence. In southern Germany, Austria and Trentino-Alto Adige, the wooden figurines are handcut. Colorful szopki are typical in Poland.
In the United States, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City annually displays a Neapolitan Baroque nativity scene before a blue spruce.
Components
Static nativity scenes
Static nativity scenes depict Jesus, Mary, Joseph, farm animals, and sometimes other characters. While most home nativity scenes are packed away at Christmas or shortly thereafter, nativity scenes in churches usually remain on display until the feast of the Baptism of the Lord.The nativity scene may not accurately reflect gospel events. With no basis in the gospels, for example, the shepherds, the Magi, and the ox and ass may be displayed together at the manger. The art form can be traced back to eighteenth-century Naples, Italy. Neapolitan nativity scenes do not represent Bethlehem at the time of Jesus but the life of the Naples of 1700, during the Bourbon period. Families competed with each other to produce the most elegant and elaborate scenes and so, next to the Child Jesus, to the Holy Family and the shepherds, were placed ladies and gentlemen of the nobility, representatives of the bourgeoisie of the time, vendors with their banks and miniatures of cheese, bread, sheep, pigs, ducks or geese, and typical figures of the time like Roma fortune tellers predicting the future, people playing cards, housewives doing shopping, dogs, cats and chickens.
Living nativity scenes
In southern Italy, living nativity scenes are extremely popular. They may be elaborate affairs, featuring not only the classic nativity scene but also a mock rural 19th-century village, complete with artisans in traditional costumes working at their trades. These attract many visitors and have been televised on RAI. In 2010, the old city of Matera in Basilicata hosted the world's largest living nativity scene of the time, which was performed in the historic center, Sassi.Animals in nativity scenes
A donkey and an ox typically appear in nativity scenes. Besides the necessity of animals for an operating manger, this is an allusion to the Book of Isaiah: "the ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib; but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider". The Gospels mention neither an ox nor a donkey, however. The first Christian writer to mention the ox and the ass in the stable in Bethlehem is Origen of Alexandria. Another source for the tradition might be the extracanonical text, the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew of the 7th century.Sheep are often present in Nativity scenes, and reference the shepherds who cared for the animals nearby. Other animals sometimes present are camels, birds, and cattle.
Traditions
Australia
During Christmas time, locals and visitors visit places around their towns and suburbs to view the outdoor and indoor displays. These displays feature nativity scenes with animals native to Australia, like kangaroos and koalas.An expansive miniature nativity scene is on display at St. Elizabeth's Parish, Dandenong North. Celebrated for its scope and detail, it draws a large audience and has been dubbed the "Australian Nativity Scene". Its creator, artist Wilson Fernandez, has been building the traditional nativity scene at St. Elizabeth's Parish since 2003.
To mark its 10th anniversary, Most Reverend Denis Hart Archbishop of Melbourne celebrated the Vigil Mass and blessed the Australian Nativity Scene on Saturday, 14 December 2013. Shalom World, a 24/7, commercial-free Catholic television channel broadcast a live telecast of the Australian Nativity Scene on 24 December 2022. On 2 December 2023, the Australian Nativity Scene marked its 20 year anniversary. To mark this occasion, Archbishop Peter A Comensoli blessed the Australian Nativity Scene.
Canada
Bethlehem Live is an all-volunteer living nativity produced by Gateway Christian Community Church in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The production includes a reconstruction of the ancient town of Bethlehem and seven individual vignettes. There is also an annual, highly publicized nativity scene at the St. Patrick's Basilica, Ottawa, Ontario.Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, and the cultures represented in its predecessors i.e. Czechoslovakia and the lands of former Bohemia, have a long tradition regarding betlémy, crèches. The tradition of home nativity scenes is often traced to the 1782 ban of church and institutional crèches by emperor Joseph II, officially responding to public disturbances and the resulting "loss of dignity" of such displays. As this followed the Edict of Toleration proclaimed the previous year, it reduced State support of the Catholic church in this multi-confessional land.Třebechovice pod Orebem
The Museum of Nativity Scenes in Třebechovice pod Orebem has over 400 examples dated from the 18th until early 20th century, including the Probošt's mechanical Christmas crib, so called Třebechovice's Bethlehem.The issue of cost arose, and paper-cut crèches, "the crèche of the poor", became one major expression, as well as wood-carved ones, some of them complex and detailed. Many major Czech artists, sculptors and illustrators have as a significant part of their legacy the crèches that they created.
The following people are known for creating Czech paper crèches:
- Mikoláš Aleš, painter famed for his murals of the National Theatre
- Josef Wenig, illustrator, theatre decorator and playwright
- Josef Lada, known for his work in The Good Soldier Švejk
- Marie Fischerová-Kvěchová, illustrator of a large number of children books