The Christmas crib, or nativity scene, goes back to Saint Francis of Assisi, who in 1223 at Greccio set up a manger with an ox and an ass and had Mass celebrated before it so that the people could see with their own eyes the poverty of the Child of Bethlehem. Pope Francis's apostolic letter Admirabile signum (2019) calls the crib a living Gospel and asks that the custom never be lost in homes, schools, workplaces and public squares. The Church's Directory on Popular Piety commends the family crib in the same terms and the Book of Blessings gives an order for blessing it at home. This guide is for setting one up so that it is prayed at, not only looked at.

What you need

• A set of figures: Mary, Joseph, the Child, shepherds and sheep, the ox and the ass, an angel, and the three Magi with their camels
• A stable or cave and a manger, bought or made
• A Bible, for Saint Luke's account of the birth at the blessing
• Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers (USCCB) or the Book of Blessings, for the blessing text

When to pray it

Set up the crib during Advent, bless it on Christmas Eve or when it is set up, place the Child at Christmas, add the Magi at Epiphany, and keep it through the Christmas season.

Steps

1. 1

   Step 1: Understand why the crib

   Saint Francis wanted people to see the hardship of the Child's birth, and the crib has taught the Incarnation to the eyes ever since. Pope Francis draws out its lessons in Admirabile signum: the night sky and the poor landscape say that God comes into our real world; the ruined stable says that he comes to rebuild what sin has broken; the shepherds say that the poor are the first invited; the ox and the ass, from Isaiah's 'the ox knows its owner', say that all creation recognises him; and Mary and Joseph say that God entrusts himself to a family. Setting up a crib is a way of preaching the Gospel in your own house.

2. 2

   Step 2: Choose where to place it

   Put the crib where the household lives and prays, a mantel, a side table, the base of the Christmas tree, or a low table where children can reach it. It should be visible from where you sit in the evening, so that it can be the place of a short prayer, and safe from candles and pets. If the house has a prayer corner with a crucifix and an image of Our Lady, the crib belongs there through the season. A nativity scene in the window or the front garden, where neighbours see it, is an old and good custom too.

Tips

• Let the children build it. Pope Francis notes that the crib is where children first learn the Gospel, and a scene they have arranged is one they will pray at.
• A home-made stable from a box and moss is entirely in the spirit of Greccio; expensive figures are not the point, poverty is.
• Keep the Child hidden, wrapped in a cloth in a drawer, until Christmas Eve, and let the youngest place him.
• The Christmas season ends with the Baptism of the Lord; an older custom keeps the crib until the Presentation on 2 February, as Saint Peter's Square does.

Related saints

• Saint Francis of Assisi