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Allen County Edition Ed E Reaching Fort Wayne And Surrounding Counties
Vol. 35, No. 8
www.seniorlifenewspapers.com
7H[W DQG 3KRWRV %\ 9,1&( /$%$5%(5$ )HDWXUH :ULWHU The Christmas crib, the figurative representation of the Holy Night before the birth of Jesus Christ, has manifested itself among Christians around the world for many centuries. During the Christmas period, artistic cribs or creches are set up in churches, houses and apartments, which differ from each other in material and number of characters. So, where does this custom come from? The traditional creation of nativity sets presumably is due to St. Francis of Assisi. He reportedly recreated the first nativity set in the history of Christmas in 1223 with people and living animals. He chose as a setting a manger 7 ( 1$7,9,7< 7+ in a wood near the monastery of Grec 5220 ³ 0 0DUW\\ .D\ORU KKD DDVV QQDDWWLY cio, Italy. He used the vivid scenery to LYLW\ VHWV DW KHU KRP PH 6KH KDV E bring the Christmas Gospel to believers who did not HHHQ FROOHFWLQJ nativity scenes out of wood during WKKHP HP VVLQQFFH FH know how to read Luke 2:1-20. the winter. They created the Holy Family and added Many stables also were At that time, St. Francis certainly was not aware wooden stables to their wooden figures. equipped with a comet star and an announcing angel. of laying the foundation for a custom that would last Nativity scenes eventually entered townhouses Christmas cribs gradually made their way into many many centuries. Since it was mainly about a child lying and farmsteads. While the representation of the cribs private families, where they still delight collectors of in a manger, it was assumed the newborn babe should initially was limited to the baby Jesus, Mary and large and small nativity scenes. come from a poor family and therefore from ordinary Joseph and the ox and the donkey, more figures were One such collector in our neck of the woods is people. As a result, often only the image of Jesus in the added during the 19th century. Marty Kaylor, along with her husband, Bob. Married manger was used to represent the Holy Night. Since the Matthew 2:1-12 mentions the Magi who in 1966 not long after they met at Manchester College, came from the east to worship the newborn Christ In the mid-16th century, Christmas representathat C Christmas h istm hr tmas the they ey de decided to begin collecting nativchild, three kings, as well as many shepherds and their th tions began to appear in many Catholic churches Continued on page 5 throughout Europe. Elsewhere, farmers began to carve sheep, began appearing.
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