I was surprised to realize that the history of the "nativity scene" was unknown to me. We have always had nativities and creches to display the meaning of Christmas, right? So when did they physically come into being?
Here is another question. Do you know that folk art and decorative painting have roots in the purpose of telling a story? Artists and folk artists throughout the centuries have had the job of showing events and history stories to a populace that couldn't read. Maybe the materials to read weren't even available. More of that for another post.
The story of the first recorded nativity is credited to St. Francis of Assisi in 1223. Why? He was concerned that those in his flock could not really picture the birth of Christ. He arranged to set up a living nativity with real animals. One account says there was a live baby in the manger, another says it was a beautifully carved wooden Christ child. The people loved it, and we have had depictions of the scene ever since. Enter the artist, and the story continues to this day.
More information and photos:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nativity_scene
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/09/a-creche-course-at-christmas_n_2252966.html
I love nativities. My collection is pretty large and varied. I have wooden, metal, resin, and ceramic to name a few. This is a salt glaze nativity. It must be handled with care, and so far all pieces are intact.
Most of my nativities can be handled, because that is the beauty of telling a story to people who also can't read yet, like, children. One year our whole Sunday School painted a nativity. It is still one of my favorites.
Each week my husband would cut out the proper size block of wood needed for that week's addition to the nativity. Of course, the lesson accompanied the items we painted. You do know that folk art is art by the people for the people? Training is not needed at all, just the willingness and the art supplies.
As you can see, any child could play with this set without harm. We stained each piece and transferred the design. Everyone outlined the design with black permanent pen, and then filled in with color. Yes, real paint. On this set I added the darker purple and glitter paint to the tops.
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| Small Carved Nativity, Dennis Allwardt |
Here is another question. Do you know that folk art and decorative painting have roots in the purpose of telling a story? Artists and folk artists throughout the centuries have had the job of showing events and history stories to a populace that couldn't read. Maybe the materials to read weren't even available. More of that for another post.
The story of the first recorded nativity is credited to St. Francis of Assisi in 1223. Why? He was concerned that those in his flock could not really picture the birth of Christ. He arranged to set up a living nativity with real animals. One account says there was a live baby in the manger, another says it was a beautifully carved wooden Christ child. The people loved it, and we have had depictions of the scene ever since. Enter the artist, and the story continues to this day.
More information and photos:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nativity_scene
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/09/a-creche-course-at-christmas_n_2252966.html
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| Salt Glaze Nativity |
Most of my nativities can be handled, because that is the beauty of telling a story to people who also can't read yet, like, children. One year our whole Sunday School painted a nativity. It is still one of my favorites.
Each week my husband would cut out the proper size block of wood needed for that week's addition to the nativity. Of course, the lesson accompanied the items we painted. You do know that folk art is art by the people for the people? Training is not needed at all, just the willingness and the art supplies.
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| Block Nativity |
Do you have nativity sets? What is your favorite?
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