Fr Paul Melwyn D'Souza

Pics: John Cyril D’Souza

Mangaluru, Dec 24: The chilling winter has brought the joy Christmas along with it all over the world. For the Catholics of Coastal Karnataka region the Christmas cribs play an important role in the Christmas celebration.

The Origin of the Christmas Crib

Billions of people around the world celebrate Christmas. People have been observing various traditions, customs and practices in relation to the celebration of Christmas that are both religious and secular in nature. Several popular customs associated with Christmas have developed independently of the commemoration of Jesus’ birth. Nativity scenes remind us all greatly of the true message of Christmas. The Nativity scene is embellished with the image of the baby Jesus lying in a manger and surrounded by his parents, Mary and Joseph, as shepherds, oxen, donkeys, sheep, and wise men look on. This depiction of the Nativity scene is more commonly known as the Christmas crib. It shows the birth of Jesus as the child and emphasizes Christ’s humility and the wonder of God manifested in a human form.

The representation of the scene of the nativity is a tradition that is almost 800 years old. It dates back to a Catholic saint Francis of Assisi (1181 – 1226). About 1223 A.D. something marvelous happened. St. Francis of Assisi who is hailed as the Second Christ,desired to celebrate the solemnity of the memory of the birth of the Child Jesus in the greatest possible manner. His primary aim was to evoke a deeper devotion of the Child Jesus and to help people to call to mind the poverty of Jesus and to make the wondrous event of the incarnation more real to the people of time. He was concerned that the meaning of Christmas has become lost as most people were more focused with the rituals associated with thecelebration of Christmas. Determined to remind people what Christmas is really about, he set about creating the world’s first known Nativity scene in order to remind people of the true significance of Christmas.

It is believed that St. Francis of Assisi was first inspired by this idea after visiting the historical place of Christ’s birth on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land – the humble stable in a cave in Bethlehem. It is likely that this event deepened his devotion to the Child Jesus, who was born into the world in such poverty, humility and simplicity. In the small Italian town of Greccio, built on a mountainside overlooking a beautiful valley, St. Francis with the help of a certain virtuous landowner, named John, set up a nativity scene with a stable, animals (ox and donkey) and hay. The Friars who had come from many communities and men and women of the neighborhood gathered on the Christmas Eve with candles and torches in order to participate in the celebration of the Holy Mass by the crib. Songs and hymns were sung with great solemnity and St. Francis as described by St. Bonaventure, Francis’ biographer “the man of God stood by the manager, filled with the utmost joy, and shedding tears of devotion and compassion”. He sang the gospel and preached on the Nativity of Christ and “whenever he pronounced His name with infinite tenderness he called Him the “little Babe of Bethlehem”.

It is said that after the Mass, St. Francis went to the crib and stretched out his arms as though the Holy Child was present there. Due to the intensity of his devotion, the child Jesus appeared and the empty manger was filled with the radiance of the new born King. The hay from the crib was carried and preserved by the people and miraculously cured sick animals and drove away different kinds of pestilence. St. Francis’ idea of bringing the scene of Bethlehem into one’s own town spread quickly. His enactment of the First Christmas was so popular that soon there were Christmas cribs in the churches of Italy. The devotion also spread to private homes, and in modern times even to secular institutions, so much so that it’s now impossible to imagine Christmas without having a nativity scene to behold.

Nativity scene is more than a pretty Christmas decoration. It is a historic Catholic tradition and a tool for meditation on the humility, simplicity and poverty that Christ took on from the moment of his incarnation, out of his boundless love for humanity. As we look on the baby Jesus in the manger, we believe that He is the answer to our problems. Instead of violence, we see gentleness in Baby Jesus in the manger we; instead of hatred, we see tenderness and instead of selfishness, we see God’s love for us in baby Jesus. In this world of consumerism, the true message of Christmas is becoming lost; buried underneath layers of secular traditions. Yet at the same time we also still see nativities everywhere during Christmas time. Indeed, Jesus is the essence of Christmas. The tiny baby Jesus lying in the manger is an amazing manifestation of God’s love. For Christians, the custom of building a Christmas crib provides an occasion to come into contact with the mystery of Christ. As a strong resonance of popular piety, the faithful are invited to venerate the Child Jesus, which placed in a crib erected in the Church or another convenient place.

Above are the few cribs those are on display in various churches of Bantwal region and a few in the city. Have a look. These might bring your childhood memories alive.