the NATIVITY SCENE

We are all familiar with the Christian story of Jesus’ birth – how three wise men bearing gi!s "nd the holy babe lying in a manger. The nativity was depicted in art as far back as 4th-century Rome, from where a sarcophagus has been discovered adorned with a relief of an infant accepting gi!s from the Magi. Models and tableaux representing the story of Christ’s birth became popular in homes and public places at Christmas a!er Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi created a living scene using real people and animals in 1223. The idea gave birth to nativity plays as well as inanimate scenes with statue#es. Also known as

crèche, presepio and krippe, depending on where you are in the world, the la#er were fashioned from wood, clay and paper, and at some point arrived in our homes as smaller versions.