The Christmas Crib

    From the earliest centuries the Christ Child and the manger were used in church services.  The present day custom of having a Nativity set in the home and on public display started with St. Francis of Assisi in the year 1223 in the town of Greccio, Italy.  He wanted to bring to the people the memory of the Bethlehem story, how the Baby Jesus was born in poverty, laid in a manger filled with hay between an ass and an ox.  He asked a fellow Franciscan to find the material he needed. On Christmas Eve, Brother Franciscans came from miles around, people in the neighborhood brought candles and torches, and Brother Francis  was overjoyed. There were even a live ass and ox for the scene. A manger was prepared with hay. The crowds began to sing God's praises and continued into the night. A solemn Mass was sung at the crib.  Francis, wearing his deacon's vestments, sang the Gospel of Bethlehem.  St. Francis was so humble, he never became a priest, but remained a deacon all his life. He preached a sermon about the holy night and the birth of the newborn King.

     It is the custom now, before Midnight Mass in the church on December 24, to have a procession accompanied by joyful hymns   Either the priest, or usually a child selected for the honor, carries the Christ Child on a pillow to be placed in the manger scene, set up at a side altar or adjoining chapel, decorated with evergreens and candles all around.

      It was a custom for many years, and in some places families still observe it, to unveil the crib on Christmas Eve in a family ceremony.  One of the older children would read the Gospel of Bethlehem. Prayers would be said and a carol sung. Family members then would wish each other a merry and blessed Christmas.

     My grandfather gave me a beautiful Nativity set when I was a child.  It was beautifully hand-painted by a resident artist at Horan's Religious Gift and Book Store in Los Angeles.  Some of the figures are 11-12 inches tall. The camel is huge.  There are several sheep, three shepherds, three Magi, the ox and ass, Mary and Joseph, and of course the Baby Jesus.  It cost $35!  Imagine. But this was in the early 1940s. My grandmother, carpenter that she was, made a crib for the Baby. I still have the set, mended and heads glued back on after encountering nine children along the way. The only place it fits is on top of my parlor grand piano; and it is there every year.  It is now almost 70 years old.

     When I first received the set I was living with my grandparents. We had a fireplace that was never used. It became the "stable," decorated with fir branches and straw. The long brick hearth was perfect for positioning the Magi and camel to come a little closer week by week until they reached the stable on January 6, Feast of the Epiphany.  And yes, the Christ Child was not put into the manger until Christmas Eve.

12/21/11