If you’re using a set of carved or painted Nativity figurines every single Christmas and Christmas, you’re participating in a tradition that has been going on for centuries.
If you’re planning to display a carving or plaster Nativity display (or creche) this Christmas, you’re being part of a wonderful tradition that spans many centuries. Explore the long-standing tradition of Nativity creches.
Tradition
According to legend, Saint Francis from Assisi established the very first creche when the shepherd with sheep nativity set was actually a live scene that consisted of a manger, an ox, and a donkey, all in the context of a Christmas Eve Mass he planned while in the town of the mountains of Grecia.
St. Bonaventure composed of the evening’s events in the biography of St. Francis, “A certain valiant and veracious soldier, Master John of Grecio, who, for the love of Christ, had left the warfare of this world, and become a dear friend of this holy man, affirmed that he beheld an Infant marvelously beautiful, sleeping in the manger, Whom the blessed Father Francis embraced with both his arms as if he would awake Him from sleep.”
Nativity at Christmas
After the first nativity scene was established, the tradition became popular and spread widely. Within a century, nearly every church across Italy, for example, has adopted the practice. Then, with time, statues instead of live people and animals were used which ultimately led to the nativity scene at homes that have become present in Christmas celebrations today.
Creches may not be historically accurate as they depict both shepherds as well as they depict the Magi to be in the manger just after Christ was born. However, they do mention that the Gospel of Matthew claims that the Magi traveled along with the star toward Jesus’s place of residence for a year after the birth however, those who believe in the gospels get their inspiration from the popular characters from the Christmas story that was altogether in one spot.
There are many researchers believe that the oldest creche located in Italy is comprised of marble figures that were placed inside Rome’s Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore and believed to be the work of artist Arnolfo di Cambio The figures are dated a couple of times starting in 1284 up to 1289.
The French area of Provence is well-known as an area where artisans craft saints (little saints) miniature clay figures that are made by hand. As elsewhere, nativity-themed house scenes have always been a hit in this part of France however, they are typically elaborate and made from expensive materials, making them expensive for the average household. In the course of the French Revolution, they were even outright banned.
The year 1797 was when Jean-Louis Lagnel began to create Nativity sets made of clay, which made them available to all. Later in the 20th century, Therese Neveu began the tradition of firing clay figurines to increase their strength and thus resulting in the santons that we have in the present. The Musee du Santon et des Traditions de Provence is home to one of the most extensive collections of Santons. And it’s where you can observe the world’s most tiny creche, which is ascribed to the Guinness Book of World Records, which boasts 39 santons in a nutshell.
Tomas Kryza
The Guinness Book of World Records lists the creche designed by Tomas Kryza (1838-1918) as the world’s largest of its kind. A stocking weaver from Jindrichuv Hradec in the present day currently the Czech Republic, Kryza spent 60 years creating the extravagant display, which features 1389 characters of human beings as well as animals. Kryza began by creating the Nativity scene. Later, in the years to follow, he expanded the creche and is now part of the Jindrichuv Hradec which also features other Biblical themes as well as scenes from everyday life in the 19th century.
