December 25, 1223

On December 25, 1223. St. Francis of Assisi got permission from the Pope, Honorious III, and set up the first Nativity scene in Greccio, Italy. He found a suitable cave and set up a manger with hay and two live animals, an ox and an ass. He then invited the nearby villagers to come and look at the scene as he preached about Baby Jesus. There was no person playing Mary or Joseph or the Baby Jesus. There also wasn’t any Wisemen showing up with gifts or a little drummer boy banging on a drum. St. Francis also didn’t include any camels or goats or pooping Caganer. He kept his Nativity scene real. Just an ox and an ass and some hay. Although it was later claimed that the hay used by St. Francis did miraculously acquire the power to heal local cattle of diseases and pestilences.

About Joel Byers

Born in North Georgia and educated at some very fine public institutions. Real education started after graduating from college and then getting married and raising two boys. Has the ability to see the funny and absurd in most things and will always remark on it, even if it means getting the stink-eye from his victims.
This entry was posted in 13th Century, Historical Facts and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *