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December 9, 2006
A Short History of the Creche or Nativity Scene
For our family, the creche is a central part of our Advent and Christmas season and occupies a key place just beside our Christmas tree. These minature nativity scenes have been around for centuries, but I'm always surprised by the number of people who don't know where or how the creche was first created. 
From the early days of the Church, believers painted scenes of the birth of Christ beginning in the catecombs. These scenes became a staple of Christian life and carried on through the years. In the time of St. Francis of Assisi, the images had taken a new form: faithful Catholics would sit out mangers in front of their local church, but these mangers were often jeweled and made of gold to represent who they held. St. Francis marvelled at this and felt that the people were forgetting the humble, poor birth of our Lord Jesus.
So in 1223, St. Francis created the first living Creche in a small cave in Italy. On Christmas eve he gathered with others to act out the Nativity scene in all it's impoverished glory. This re-enactment is credited as the first Creche (which is French for "manger") and from that point forward the creche was designed in a more realistic way by depicting a stable scene.
A creche traditionally includes two animals: an ox and a donkey. These were the two animals participating in St. Francis' creche because he wanted to allude to Isaiah 1:3 which states "The ox knows its owner, and the ass its master's crib; but Israel does not know, my people does not understand."
Another important consideration is that the shepherds and the wise men shouldn't be at the creche together. In America, we tend to simply sit all the players out and leave them there for the season. However in many countries they add and remove characters based on the day. So for example, the manger should be empty until Christmas day. The next day shepherds show up. But not until early January do the wise men show up (by which time the shepherds have returned to their duties). And the creche should stay up until February 2nd, which is the feast day of the Presentation of the Lord.
One interesting change in popular culture is that I'm seeing more and more protestants adding the nativity scene to their Christmas decorations, which is great. Early protestantism reviled any image of Jesus or His followers, so creches were only a Catholic tradition. But now many see the value of having a creche in the home to remind us why we are celebrating the season.
If you're looking for a creche, we recommend this great Creche starter set at our partner site.
Hope you have a wonderful, holy Advent season.
God bless,
Jay
Posted by jay at December 9, 2006 8:34 AM
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Comments
Thank you for this interesting post.I love my Fontannini Nativity Scene, which grows a bit every year, and now occupies the family altar at Christmastime.
We follow the custom of the visitors taking turns in the stable as well.
My mother had always kept the manger noticably empty until, with great ceremony first thing Christmas morning, we would process downstairs with baby Jesus, place Him in the manger, and sing "Away in the Manger".
Now, in my home, it's a great teaching tool for my little girl, with Down Syndrome, as it's 'hands on'.
Posted by: Leticia at December 17, 2006 8:22 AM
I like how this is written, but it's not short, it's far too long!! It does give a lot of information to read about.
Posted by: kristina at November 30, 2007 8:35 AM
