Origin of the First Nativity Scene (creche)
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He himself had recently been inspired by his visit to the Holy Land, where he'd been shown Jesus' traditional birthplace.
St. Francis later told a friend why he desired to create the first nativity scene in his town: “I want to do something that will recall the memory of that Child who was born in Bethlehem, to see with bodily eyes the inconveniences of his infancy, how he lay in the manger, and how the ox and ass stood by.” |
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At a time when most ordinary people could not read, St. Francis decided he would demonstrate the Christmas story in a way anyone could understand.
The scene St. Francis created was pure simplicity inside a cave, with real people and animals... an empty manger (the feeding trough of farm animals which served as Jesus’ crib) an ox and a donkey/ass…and a pile of straw (*reference photo below) where one might imagine the baby would lie.
As people gathered around to see what he was doing, he told them how Jesus had been born in a simple stable and how angels had appeared to shepherds telling them to go and find for themselves the Messiah who had been born. St. Francis created that display to be a visual reminder of what Christmas was all about. He wanted everyone to place themselves in the scene and impress more deeply into their understanding how Christ came into the world in such poverty and simplicity.
The idea gradually caught on and now the Christmas Crib (also known as a creche or nativity scene) is a universal part of the celebrations. This ought to take the pride of place among the Christmas decorations as it tells the story of Jesus' birth in the stable, and how shepherds visited him.
When St. Francis set up the first Christmas Crib he wanted to convey the wonder and excitement of how God came to us as a tiny baby...today, we can still convey that wonder to our children, our families and our parish.
The scene St. Francis created was pure simplicity inside a cave, with real people and animals... an empty manger (the feeding trough of farm animals which served as Jesus’ crib) an ox and a donkey/ass…and a pile of straw (*reference photo below) where one might imagine the baby would lie.
As people gathered around to see what he was doing, he told them how Jesus had been born in a simple stable and how angels had appeared to shepherds telling them to go and find for themselves the Messiah who had been born. St. Francis created that display to be a visual reminder of what Christmas was all about. He wanted everyone to place themselves in the scene and impress more deeply into their understanding how Christ came into the world in such poverty and simplicity.
The idea gradually caught on and now the Christmas Crib (also known as a creche or nativity scene) is a universal part of the celebrations. This ought to take the pride of place among the Christmas decorations as it tells the story of Jesus' birth in the stable, and how shepherds visited him.
When St. Francis set up the first Christmas Crib he wanted to convey the wonder and excitement of how God came to us as a tiny baby...today, we can still convey that wonder to our children, our families and our parish.
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*the Franciscan Sanctuary of the Nativity is also known as The Shrine of Greccio or the Franciscan Bethlehem. One can still see the stone—perhaps three feet high and two feet wide—on which the hay was placed. It has a brownish grey top and bottom, with a band of grey in the center. The top has a rough, shallow, V-shaped indentation. Here the carved image of the baby was laid. |
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