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In the Christian tradition, a nativity scene (also known as a manger scene, crib, crèche ( or ), or in Italian ''presepio'' or ''presepe'', or Bethlehem) is the special exhibition, particularly during the Christmas season, of art objects representing the
birth of Jesus The Nativity or birth of Jesus Christ is found in the biblical gospels of Gospel of Matthew, Matthew and Gospel of Luke, Luke. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Palestine, in Herodian kingdom, Roman-controlled Judea, th ...
.Berliner, R. ''The Origins of the Creche''. Gazette des Beaux-Arts, 30 (1946), p. 251. While the term "nativity scene" may be used of any representation of the very common subject of the
Nativity of Jesus in art The Nativity of Jesus has been a major subject of Christian art since the 4th century. The artistic depictions of the ''Nativity'' or birth of Jesus, celebrated at Christmas, are based on the narratives in the Bible, in the Gospels of Matthew ...
, it has a more specialized sense referring to seasonal displays, in particular sets of individual sculptural figures and props that are arranged for display. Other characters from the nativity story, such as shepherds, sheep, and angels may be displayed near the manger in a barn (or cave) intended to accommodate farm animals, as described in the
Gospel of Luke The Gospel of Luke is the third of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It tells of the origins, Nativity of Jesus, birth, Ministry of Jesus, ministry, Crucifixion of Jesus, death, Resurrection of Jesus, resurrection, and Ascension of ...
. A donkey and an ox are typically depicted in the scene, and the
Magi Magi (), or magus (), is the term for priests in Zoroastrianism and earlier Iranian religions. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius the Great, known as the Behistun Inscription. Old Per ...
and their camels, described in the
Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells the story of who the author believes is Israel's messiah (Christ (title), Christ), Jesus, resurrection of Jesus, his res ...
, are also included. Many also include a representation of the Star of Bethlehem. Several cultures add other characters and objects that may or may not be Biblical. The first living nativity scene, attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi, occurred in 1223 in the Italian town of Greccio. Francis had been inspired by his visit to the
Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...
, where he had been shown Jesus's traditional birthplace. Distinctive nativity scenes and traditions have been created around the world, and are displayed during the Christmas season in churches, homes, shopping malls, and other venues, and occasionally on public lands and in public buildings. Nativity scenes have not escaped controversy, and in the United States of America and in secular countries like France, their inclusion on public lands or in public buildings has provoked court challenges.


Origins and early history

The tradition of the nativity scene comes from Italy. One of the earliest representation in art of the nativity was found in the
early Christian Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the historical era of the Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Christianity spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and be ...
Roman catacomb of Saint Valentine. It dates to about AD 380. Another, of similar date, is beneath the pulpit in Sant'Ambrogio, Milan, carved on
Stilicho Stilicho (; – 22 August 408) was a military commander in the Roman army who, for a time, became the most powerful man in the Western Roman Empire. He was partly of Vandal origins and married to Serena, the niece of emperor Theodosius I. He b ...
's sarcophagus. The first seasonal nativity scene, which seems to have been a dramatic rather than sculptural rendition, is attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi.Dues, Greg.''Catholic Customs and Traditions: A Popular Guide'' Twenty-Third Publications, 2000.Thomas, George F.. ''Vitality of the Christian Tradition''. Ayer Co. Publishing, 1944. Its creation is described by Saint Bonaventure in his ''Life of Saint Francis of Assisi'' . Saint Francis' manger scene is said to have been enacted at Christmas 1223 in a cave near the Sanctuary of Greccio in the Central Italy town of Greccio. The very small chapel where it is said to have taken place survives. The painting over its altar, and others before 1400, by
Giotto Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto, was an List of Italian painters, Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the International Gothic, Gothic and Italian Ren ...
at the Assisi Lower Church, and by Antonio Vite in
Pistoia Pistoia (; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about north-west of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typic ...
, depict Saint Francis kneeling and placing a small baby into a chest-like manger. Giotto adds a miniature ox and ass. A substantial set of stone figures by
Arnolfo di Cambio Arnolfo di Cambio ( – 1300/1310) was an Italian architect and sculptor of the Duecento, who began as a lead assistant to Nicola Pisano. He is documented as being ''capomaestro'' or Head of Works for Florence Cathedral in 1300, and designed th ...
, a leading sculptor of the day, was made for
Santa Maria Maggiore Santa Maria Maggiore (), also known as the Basilica of Saint Mary Major or the Basilica of Saint Mary the Great, is one of the four Basilicas in the Catholic Church#Major and papal basilicas, major papal basilicas and one of the Seven Pilgrim C ...
in Rome around 1290. The surviving portion includes figures for the Holy Family, the Three Kings, and the ox and ass from the neck up. The scene's popularity inspired much imitation throughout Christian countries, and in the
early modern period The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...
sculpted cribs, often exported from Italy, were set up in many Christian churches and homes. These elaborate scenes reached their artistic apogee in the
Papal State The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct Sovereignty, sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy fro ...
, in Emilia, in the
Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...
and in
Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
. In the tradition of the
Moravian Church The Moravian Church, or the Moravian Brethren ( or ), formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestant denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohemian Reformation of the 15th century and the original ...
, nativity scenes have been the center of the Christmas putz, which is "built to tell the Good News of the coming of the Christ Child" and "is the Gospel in miniature from Isaiah’s prophecy and Mary’s annunciation to the visit of the wisemen and the flight into Egypt." For Moravian Christians, the nativity scene serves to celebrate "the story of the wonder of Christ’s birth so that the Son of God can be welcomed into the hearts of the home at the Christmas." By the end of the 19th century nativity scenes became widely popular in many Christian denominations, and many versions in various sizes and made of various materials, such as
terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...
, paper, wood, wax, and
ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and Tooth, teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mamm ...
, were marketed, often with a backdrop setting of a stable. Different traditions of nativity scenes emerged in different countries. Hand-painted '' santons'' are popular in
Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...
. In southern Germany,
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
and Trentino-Alto Adige, the wooden figurines are handcut. Colorful '' szopki'' are typical in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
. In the United States, the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
in New York City annually displays a Neapolitan Baroque nativity scene before a blue spruce.


Components


Static nativity scenes

Static nativity scenes depict Jesus, Mary, Joseph, farm animals, and sometimes other characters. While most home nativity scenes are packed away at Christmas or shortly thereafter, nativity scenes in churches usually remain on display until the feast of the
Baptism of the Lord The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, or Theophany, is the feast day commemorating the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. Originally the baptism of Christ was celebrated on Epiphany, which commemorates the coming of the Ma ...
. The nativity scene may not accurately reflect gospel events. With no basis in the gospels, for example, the shepherds, the Magi, and the ox and
ass Ass most commonly refers to: * Buttocks (in informal American English) * Donkey or ass, ''Equus africanus asinus'' **any other member of the subgenus ''Asinus'' Ass or ASS may also refer to: Art and entertainment * Ass (album), ''Ass'' (albu ...
may be displayed together at the manger. The art form can be traced back to eighteenth-century Naples, Italy. Neapolitan nativity scenes do not represent Bethlehem at the time of Jesus but the life of the Naples of 1700, during the Bourbon period. Families competed with each other to produce the most elegant and elaborate scenes and so, next to the
Child Jesus The Christ Child—also known as Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, Child Jesus, Divine Child, Divine Infant and the Holy Child—refers to Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ during his early years. The term refers to a period of life of Jesus, Jesus' l ...
, to the Holy Family and the shepherds, were placed ladies and gentlemen of the nobility, representatives of the
bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...
of the time, vendors with their banks and miniatures of cheese, bread, sheep, pigs, ducks or geese, and typical figures of the time like Roma fortune tellers predicting the future, people playing cards, housewives doing shopping, dogs, cats and chickens.


Living nativity scenes

In southern Italy, living nativity scenes (''presepe vivente'') are extremely popular. They may be elaborate affairs, featuring not only the classic nativity scene but also a mock rural 19th-century village, complete with artisans in traditional costumes working at their trades. These attract many visitors and have been televised on RAI. In 2010, the old city of
Matera Matera (, ; Neapolitan language, Materano: ) is a city and the capital of the Province of Matera in the regions of Italy, region of Basilicata, in Southern Italy. With a history of continuous occupation dating back to the Palaeolithic (10th mi ...
in Basilicata hosted the world's largest living nativity scene of the time, which was performed in the historic center, Sassi.


Animals in nativity scenes

A donkey (or ass) and an ox typically appear in nativity scenes. Besides the necessity of animals for an operating manger, this is an allusion to the
Book of Isaiah The Book of Isaiah ( ) is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Major Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. It is identified by a superscription as the words of the 8th-century BC prophet Isaiah ben Amo ...
: "the ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib; but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider" ( Isaiah 1:3). The Gospels mention neither an ox and nor a donkey, however.Hobgood-Oster, Laura. ''Holy Dogs and Asses: Animals in the Christian Tradition''. University of Illinois Press, 2008. . The first Christian writer to mention the ox and the ass in the stable in Bethlehem is
Origen of Alexandria Origen of Alexandria (), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an early Christian scholar, ascetic, and theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Alexandria. He was a prolific writer who wrote roughly 2,000 treatises i ...
. Another source for the tradition might be the extracanonical text, the
Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew The Latin Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew (or The Infancy Gospel of Matthew) is a part of the New Testament apocrypha. In antiquity, the text was called The Book About the Origin of the Blessed Mary and the Childhood of the Savior. Pseudo-Matthew is one ...
of the 7th century.


Traditions


Australia

Christmas is celebrated by Australians in a number of ways. In Australia, it is summer season and is very hot during Christmas time. During the Christmas time, locals and visitors visit places around their towns and suburbs to view the outdoor and indoor displays. All over the towns, the places are lit with colorful and modern spectacular lighting displays. The displays of nativity scenes with Aussie featured native animals like kangaroos and koalas are also evident. In Melbourne, a traditional and authentic nativity Scene is on display at St. Elizabeth's Parish, Dandenong North. This annual Australian Nativity Scene creator and artist Wilson Fernandez has been building and creating the traditional nativity scenes since 2003 at St. Elizabeth's Parish. To mark this special event, Most Reverend Denis Hart Archbishop of Melbourne celebrated the Vigil Mass and blessed the nativity scene on Saturday, 14 December 2013. Australian Nativity Scene (ANS) gained popularity and recognition over the years and in December 2016, the Australian Channel 7 captured the news of this famous creativity. Shalom World, the Catholic, commercial-free, 24/7, HD family entertainment channel, reached out to the world with
live telecast
on Australian Nativity Scene on 24 December 2022. On 2 December 2023, Australian Nativity Scene marked its 20 years—a great moment fo
St Elizabeth’s Parish
in Dandenong. To mark this occasion, Archbishop Peter A Comensoli celebrated the Vigil Mass on the first Sunday of Advent (Saturday 2 December). Here is an article to mark the celebration
‘Back in time’: Australian Nativity Scene celebrates 20 years


Canada

Bethlehem Live is an all-volunteer living nativity produced by Gateway Christian Community Church in
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...
, Manitoba, Canada. The production includes a reconstruction of the ancient town of Bethlehem and seven individual vignettes. There is also an annual, highly publicized nativity scene at the
St. Patrick's Basilica, Ottawa St Patrick's Basilica is a Roman Catholic Church in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Located at 281 Nepean Street (at the corner of Nepean and Kent) in Downtown Ottawa, it is the oldest church in the city that serves the English-speaking community.Parish ...
in Ottawa, Ontario.


Czech Republic

The
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
, and the cultures represented in its predecessors i.e.
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
and the lands of former
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
, have a long tradition regarding ''betlémy'' (literally "Bethlehems"), crèches. The tradition of home nativity scenes is often traced to the 1782 ban of church and institutional crèches by emperor Joseph II, officially responding to public disturbances and the resulting "loss of dignity" of such displays. As this followed the Edict of Toleration proclaimed the previous year, it reduced State support of the Catholic church in this multi-confessional land.


Třebechovice pod Orebem

The Museum of Nativity Scenes in Třebechovice pod Orebem has over 400 examples dated from the 18th until early 20th century, including the Probošt's mechanical Christmas crib, so called ''Třebechovice's Bethlehem''. The issue of cost arose, and paper-cut crèches, "the crèche of the poor", became one major expression, as well as wood-carved ones, some of them complex and detailed. Many major Czech artists, sculptors and illustrators have as a significant part of their legacy the crèches that they created. The following people are known for creating Czech paper crèches: * Mikoláš Aleš (1852–1913), painter famed for his murals of the National Theatre * Josef Wenig (1885–1939), illustrator, theatre decorator and playwright * Josef Lada (1887–1957), known for his work in '' The Good Soldier Švejk'' *Marie Fischerová-Kvěchová (1892–1984), illustrator of a large number of children books


Krýza's crèche

Tomáš Krýza (1838–1918) built in a period of over 60 years a nativity scene covering 60 m2 (length 17 m, size and height 2 m) which contains 1,398 figures of humans and animals, of which 133 are moveable. It is on display in southern Bohemian town
Jindřichův Hradec Jindřichův Hradec (; ) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 21,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument reservations, urb ...
. It figures as the largest mechanical nativity scene in the world in the ''
Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...
''.


Gingerbread crèches

Gingerbread nativity scenes and cribs in the church of St. Matthew in Šárka (Prague 6 Dejvice) have around 200 figures and houses, the tradition dates from since 1972; every year new ones are baked and after holidays eaten.


Italy

Christmas in Italy begins on 8 December with the
Feast of the Immaculate Conception The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception celebrates the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 8 December, nine months before the feast of the Nativity of Mary on 8 September. It is one of the most important Marian feasts in the l ...
, the day on which traditionally Christmas trees are erected, and ends on 6 January of the following year with Epiphany. The Neapolitan nativity scene is a representation of the
birth of Jesus The Nativity or birth of Jesus Christ is found in the biblical gospels of Gospel of Matthew, Matthew and Gospel of Luke, Luke. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Palestine, in Herodian kingdom, Roman-controlled Judea, th ...
traditionally set in
Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
in the 18th century. The Neapolitan crib art has remained unchanged for centuries, becoming part of the most consolidated and followed Christmas traditions of the city. Famous in Naples, in fact, is the well-known via dei presepi (via San Gregorio Armeno) which offers a showcase of all the local crafts concerning the nativity scene. Moreover, there are numerous city and non-city museums (such as the museum of San Martino or the Royal Palace of Caserta) in which historical pieces or entire scenes set during the birth of Jesus are exhibited.


Philippines (''Belén'')

In the majority-
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, miniature, full-scale, or giant
diorama A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional model either full-sized or miniature. Sometimes dioramas are enclosed in a glass showcase at a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies like mili ...
s or tableaus of the nativity scene are known as ''Belén'' (from the Spanish name for
Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...
). They were introduced by the Spanish since the 16th century. They are an iconic and ubiquitous Christmas symbol in the Philippines, on par with the parol (Christmas lanterns depicting the Star of Bethlehem) which are often incorporated into the scene as the source of illumination. Both the ''Belén'' and the ''parol'' were the traditional Christmas decorations in Filipino homes before
Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Law of the United States, U.S. federal law does not equate nationality with Race (hu ...
introduced the
Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen pinophyta, conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, associated with the celebration of Christmas. It may also consist of an artificial tree of similar appearance. The custom was deve ...
. Most churches in the Philippines also transform their altars into a ''Belén'' at Christmas. They are also found in schools (which also hold nativity plays), government buildings, commercial establishments, and in public spaces. The city of
Tarlac Tarlac, officially the Province of Tarlac (; ; ; ; ), is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. It had a population of 1,503,456 people according to ...
holds an annual competition of giant ''Belén'' in a festival known as "Belenismo sa Tarlac".


United States

Perhaps the best known nativity scene in America is the Neapolitan Baroque Crèche displayed annually in the Medieval Sculpture Hall of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
in New York City. Its backdrop is a 1763 choir screen from the
Cathedral of Valladolid The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Holy Assumption (), better known as Valladolid Cathedral, is a Catholic Church architecture, church in Valladolid, Spain. The main layout was designed by Juan de Herrera in a Renaissance architecture, Renaissance- ...
and a twenty-foot blue spruce decorated with a host of 18th-century angels. The nativity figures are placed at the tree's base. The crèche was the gift of Loretta Hines Howard in 1964, and the choir screen was the gift of The
William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper publisher and politician who developed the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His extravagant methods of yellow jou ...
Foundation in 1956. Both this presepio and the one displayed in Pittsburgh originated from the collection of Eugenio Catello. A life-size nativity scene has been displayed annually at
Temple Square Temple Square is a complex, owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), in the center of Salt Lake City, Utah. The usage of the name has gradually changed to include several other church facilities that are immediate ...
in
Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...
for several decades as part of the large outdoor Christmas displays sponsored by
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
. Each holiday season, from Light Up Night in November through Epiphany in January, the Pittsburgh Crèche is on display in downtown
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
, Pennsylvania. The Pittsburgh Creche is the world's only authorized replica of the Vatican's Christmas crèche, on display in St. Peter's Square in Rome. Pittsburgh's
Carnegie Museum of Art The Carnegie Museum of Art is an art museum in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The museum was originally known as the Department of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute and was formerly located ...
also displays a Neapolitan presepio. The presepio was handcrafted between 1700 and 1830, and re-creates the nativity within a panorama of 18th-century Italian village life. More than 100 human and angelic figures, along with animals, accessories, and architectural elements, cover 250 square feet and create a depiction of the nativity as seen through the eyes of Neapolitan artisans and collectors. The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, an annual musical holiday stage show presented at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, features a Living Nativity segment with live animals. In 2005, President of the United States of America,
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
and his wife,
First Lady of the United States First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is a title typically held by the wife of the president of the United States, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the first lady's role has never been Code of law, codified or offici ...
,
Laura Bush Laura Lane Welch Bush (née Welch; born November 4, 1946) is an American educator who was the first lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009 as the wife of George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States. Bush was previously the fir ...
displayed an 18th-century Italian ''presepio''. The ''presepio'' was donated to the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
in the last decades of the 20th century. The
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
in New York City and the
Carnegie Museum of Art The Carnegie Museum of Art is an art museum in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The museum was originally known as the Department of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute and was formerly located ...
in Pittsburgh annually display Neapolitan Baroque nativity scenes which both originated from the collection of Eugenio Catello.


Associations and notable collections

The Universalis Foederatio Praesepistica, World association of Friends of Cribs was founded in 1952, counting today 20 national associations dedicated to this subject. The Central office is in Austria. In the United States and Canada Friends of the Creche has over 200 members, with a major conference every two years. FotC maintains a list of permanent exhibits of nativity scenes in the United States and a list of permanent exhibits of nativity scenes in other parts of the world. The Bavarian National Museum displays a notable collection of nativity scenes from the fifteenth through nineteenth centuries. Every year in Lanciano, Abruzzo (Italy), a nativity scene exhibition (called in Italian "Riscopriamo il presepe") takes place at Auditorium Diocleziano, usually until 6 January. An average of one hundred nativity scenes are shown, coming from every region of Italy. There are also many nativity scenes made by local kindergarten, primary, secondary and high school. The event is organised by Associazione Amici di Lancianovecchia Museums dedicated specifically to paper nativity scenes exist in Pečky (Czech Republic).


Controversies


Europe

Nativity scenes have on some occasions been the subject of controversy. A life-sized scene in the United Kingdom featuring waxwork celebrities provoked outrage in 2004, and, in Spain, a city council forbade the exhibition of a traditional toilet humor character in a public nativity scene. The depiction of black people in the mission money boxes under the name Nickneger in German-speaking countries, which is perceived as racist today, was later sharply criticized.


United States

Nativity scenes have been involved in controversies and lawsuits surrounding the principle of
accommodationism In law and philosophy, accommodationism is the cooperation between government and religious institutions. Underlying accommodationism is the idea that "government and religion are compatible and necessary to a well-ordered society." Accommodationis ...
. In 1969, the
American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. T ...
did not want a nativity scene at The Ellipse. After the matter was resolved by the United States Court of Appeals, the nativity scene was not displayed in 1973.Menendez, Albert J.. ''Christmas in the White House''. The Westminster Press, 1983 pp. 51–52. In 1985, the
United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
ruled in ''ACLU v. Scarsdale, New York'' that nativity scenes on public lands were unconstitutional unless they also displayed non-religious symbols.Comfort, David. ''Just Say Noel: A History of Christmas from the Nativity to the Nineties''. Simon and Schuster, 1995. . This principle was further clarified in 1989, when Pittsburgh attorney Roslyn Litman argued, and the Supreme Court in '' County of Allegheny v. ACLU'' ruled, that a crèche placed on the grand staircase of the Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh, PA violated the Establishment Clause, because the "principal or primary effect" of the display was to advance religion. In 2006, a lawsuit by the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal organization in the United States, was brought against the state of Washington when it permitted a public display of a holiday tree and a menorah but not a nativity scene. Because of the lawsuit, the decision was made to permit a nativity scene to be displayed in the rotunda of the state Capitol, in Olympia, as long as other symbols of the season were included."Nonbelievers' sign at Capitol counters Nativity"
. ''Seattle Times''. 2 December 2008.
In 2013, Gov.
Rick Perry James Richard Perry (born March 4, 1950) is an American politician who served as the 14th United States secretary of energy from 2017 to 2019 in the first administration of Donald Trump. He previously served as the 47th governor of Texas fr ...
signed into Texas law the Merry Christmas bill which would allow school districts in Texas to display nativity scenes.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA; ) is an American animal rights nonprofit organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. Founded in March 1980 by Newkirk and animal rights ...
(PETA) claimed in 2014 that animals in living displays lacked proper care and suffered abuse. In the United States, nativity scenes on public lands and in public buildings have provoked court challenges, and the prankish theft of ceramic or plastic nativity figurines from outdoor displays has become commonplace.


Spain

There is a regional tradition in the
Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
region where an additional figure is added to the nativity scene: the . It depicts a person defecating. In 2005, the Barcelona city council provoked a public outcry by commissioning a nativity scene which did not include a . Within the realm of legend, there is speculation that it was in
San Cristóbal de La Laguna San Cristóbal de La Laguna (commonly known as La Laguna, ) is a city and municipality in the northern part of the island of Tenerife in the Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, on the Canary Islands, Spain. The former capital of the Canary Islan ...
,
Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...
, where a nativity scene was first publicly displayed in a private home in Spain. Likewise, the Tenerifean saint Peter of Betancur, a Franciscan and founder of the Bethlehemite Brothers in the 17th century, is credited with being one of the main precursors of nativity scene design in the American lands discovered by the Spanish. This is precisely one of the reasons why this saint is often called the "''Saint Francis of Assisi of the Americas''".


Gallery

File:Chapel of the First Live Nativity.jpg, The Chapel of the First Live Nativity, in Greccio Italy, is believed to be where Saint Francis of Assisi presented the first live nativity scene. File:Vatikan, Weihnachtskrippe auf dem Petersplatz.JPG, Christmas crib on the Saint Peter's square, Vatican File:Szopka-Wyszków-3.jpg, Living nativity at St. Wojciech Church, Wyszków, Poland, 2006 File:Vatikan, Petersdom, die Weihnachtskrippe.JPG, Christmas crib inside the Saint Peter's Basilica, Vatican File:Шопка, костел Небовзяття, Бучач, 12-01-2020.jpg, Nativity scene in Buchach, Ukraine File:Archivo General de la Nación Argentina 1924 aprox Buenos Aires, Pesebre realizado por Fray Barceló en el Arzobispado de Buenos Aires.jpg, Nativity scene in Buenos Aires (1924) File:StWendelKrippeMissionshaus.jpg, Nativity scene in St. Wendel File:Kerststal.jpg, Nativity scene in the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
File:Christmas_crib_at_the_exhibition.jpg, Christmas crib File:Weihnachtskrippe-1052655.jpg, Crib family with shepherds at the crib exhibition in Bamberg 2015 File:Nativity display of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus.jpg, Abstract nativity display in a home. File:Jesus birth scene at the St. Xavier's Church of St. Xavier's College in Kolkata.jpg, Nativity display at the St. Xavier's Church of St. Xavier's College, Kolkata. File:Traditional Christmas Crib Outside a Catholic Church in Goa India.jpg, Christmas crib outside a Catholic church Goa, India File:Christmas Crib.jpg, Christmas crib and tree display in House Mumbai, India. File:Close up of Christmas Crib, Siolim Goa December 2023.jpg, alt=Close up of Outdoor Christmas Crib in Siolim, Goa, December 2023, Close up of Outdoor Christmas Crib in Siolim, Goa, India December 2023 File:Peru Crucifix with Christmas scene c1960.jpg, Peruvian crucifix with nativity scene at its base, File:Ebing-Kirche-Krippe-P1080066.jpg, Christmas crib parish Church St. James in Ebing, Germany


See also

* Weihnachtsberg – a traditional Christmas mountain scene that combines the nativity scene with mining motifs


References


External links


A selected English bibliography – 2013
of the Friends of the Creche. Also links to bibliographies in other languages
The Mermaid in Mexican Folk Creches
. An article portraying how pagan elements have become part of this Christian art form.
links to national associations
Universalis Foederatio Praesepistica ''The International Association of Friends of the Creche''
Discover the Christmas Cribs and Santons of Provence on Notreprovence.fr (English)The Living Nativity by Larry Peacock
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nativity Scene Catholic devotions Christmas decorations Christmas traditions Culture in Naples Francis of Assisi Nativity of Jesus in art Animals in Christianity Dioramas ja:キリストの降誕#降誕場面