The
Christmas Crib
(From the book,
A Year of the Lord in the Christian Home, by Fr. Francis X. Weiser, S.J.)
The Christ Child in the
manger and other pictures of the story of Bethlehem have been used in church
services from the first centuries.
But the crib in its present form and its use outside the church originated
with St. Francis of Assisi.
Through his famous celebration at Greccio (Italy) on Christmas Eve, 1223,
with a Bethlehem scene including live animals, he made the crib popular.
Since then it has been a familiar sight in Christian homes all over the
world.
The crib should be a cherished part of the Christmas celebration in every
family. It is not only completely religious in significance but also presents to
the children in a beautiful way the central event which we commemorate on this
great feast.
Thus it assumes the character of a religious shrine in the houses of the
faithful during Christmas season.
It should be placed in an honored position, on the table or some other
support, not too high for the children to see it easily.
Dignified decoration might enhance its attraction and solemnity.
It was, and still is, a custom in Catholic sections to have a Christmas
crib in the home on the Feast of the Nativity.
On Christmas Eve, or on the morning of the great day, parents and
children gather before the crib, one of the other children reads the Gospel of
Bethlehem.
Then prayers are said and a Christmas carol is sung.
It is at this moment that Christmas really starts in the home.
Everything that went before was only preparation.
This is the beginning of the feast, and its high points are Mass and
Communion.
A crib for the family should be procured with care and loving effort.
The setting could be created at the hobby bench during the evenings of
Advent, father and children helping together and using their imagination
concerning the various details of structure, style and shape.
The figures of the holy Family, of shepherds and magi and animals, may
best be bought in a store.
Once acquired, they can be used for many successive years.
As the wreath during Advent season, so the crib may serve as a shrine for
family prayer during the days of Christmas.
The story of how St. Francis of Assisi "invented" the crib is
so delightful and inspiring that it might be told or read to the children every
year.
We give here the account in the very words of Brother Thomas de Celano,
who was there when it happened and who wrote it down.
"Blessed Francis called a friend about two weeks before Christmas
and said to him: 'If you desire that we should celebrate this year's Christmas
together at Greccio, go quickly and prepare
what I tell you; for I want to enact the memory of the Infant who was
born at Bethlehem, and how and how He was deprived of all the comforts babies
enjoy; how He was bedded in a manger on hay, between an ass and an ox.
For once I want to see all this with my own eyes.'
When the good and faithful man heard this, he departed quickly and
prepared in the above mentioned place everything that the Saint had told him.
The joyful day approached.
The brethren (Franciscans) were called from many communities.
The men and woman of the neighborhood, as best they could, prepared
candles and torches to brighten the night.
Finally the Saint of God arrived, found everything prepared, saw it and
rejoiced.
The crib was made ready, hay was brought, the ox and ass were led to the
spot.
Greccio became a new Bethlehem.
The night was radiant the joy.
The crowds drew near and rejoiced in the novelty of the celebration.
Their voices resounded from the woods, and the rocky cliff echoed the jubilant
outburst.
As they sang in praise of God, the whole night rang with exultation.
The Saint of God stood before the crib, overcome with devotion and wondrous
joy.
A solemn Mass was sung at the crib.
The Saint in deacon's vestments, for a deacon he was (out of humility, St. Francis never became a priest, remaining a deacon all his life). He sang the gospel. Then he preached a delightful sermon to the people who stood around him, speaking about the nativity of the poor King and the humble town of Bethlehem.
