Why are these two animals in my Nativity Scene?

Why are these two animals in my Nativity Scene?  Perhaps you asked that question as a child when you helped your parents set up the scene in your home.  Maybe you have had to answer that question for a child or grandchild of your own.   You may be interested to know they have been part of Nativity Scenes since the very beginning.  The wise men, shepherds and angel came later.  To understand this, we start with the first known Nativity Scene.

When was the first Nativity Scene (or Crèche)?

The first known Nativity Scene was created by St. Francis in 1223. We have a historical account  of Francis’ nativity scene in The Life of St. Francis of Assisi by St. Bonaventure, a Franciscan monk.

Why did St. Francis have the first Nativity Scene created?

According to St. Bonaventure, St. Francis said it was because “I wish in full reality to awaken the remembrance of the child as he was born in Bethlehem and of all the hardship he had to endure in his childhood. I wish to see with my bodily eyes what it meant to lie in a manger and sleep on hay, between an ox and an ass.”

He wanted the villagers to share that same experience.  After a torchlight procession to the cave containing the Nativity Scene, he celebrated the Mass and preached a sermon in front of the Crèche. Now the villagers not only heard, but felt, what that humble beginning was like.

What did the first Nativity Scene look like?

According to Bonaventure’s biography, St. Francis got permission from Pope Honorious III to set up a manger with hay and two live animals—an ox and an ass—in a cave in the Italian village of Greccio.  The floor of the cave was strewn with straw and a manger was set up with a carved figure of the infant Jesus, together with the ox and the ass.

Later Nativity scenes became increasingly elaborate with the addition of Mary, Joseph, wise men, angels, sheep and even camels.  Even though they are not mentioned in the Gospels, the ox and the ass remain as staples of any Nativity Scene.  The one pictured is the one I own and it is typical.  No camels, however.

The Gospel Accounts

Both Matthew and Luke give an account of the birth of Jesus.  The wise men appear in Matthew and Luke mentions the shepherds.  There is no account where the wise men and shepherds appear together.  Neither Gospel mentions the presence of either an ox or an ass.

Luke

The Nativity Scene is based on the account in Luke Chapter 2:7 where the infant Jesus is laid in a manger because there is no room in the inn.   In Luke, an Angel appears to the shepherds announcing the birth of the Savior.  They then hasten to Bethlehem and find Jesus in the manger with Mary and Joseph.  This then becomes a basis for having the shepherds in the Nativity Scene.  There is no mention of the wise men or of the presence of angels or animals at the manger.

Matthew

While Matthew notes that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, his account does not mention the manger or the shepherds, much less any animals.  Matthew 2:1-12 is the account of the wise men.  There is no mention of them visiting the manger and, indeed, Matthew 2:11 says “when they came into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother”.  The timing of the visit is not noted in the account.  The fact that Herod ordered the death of all children under the age of two would imply their visit was sometime after the manger had been long vacated.

Pseudo-Matthew Account

Here we find an intriguing answer to “Why are there an ox and an ass in my Nativity Scene?” 

What is Pseudo-Matthew

Pseudo-Matthew is sometimes called the Infancy Gospel of Matthew and its full title is “Birth of the Blessed Mary and the Infancy of the Saviour”.  It was rejected for inclusion into the canon, both for some of its content and its questionable authorship.  None-the-less it was widely circulated throughout the middle ages and many of its stories became loved parts of the folklore of Christianity.  It expands on the Gospel accounts of the birth of Jesus and purports to cover details of his youth which are not covered in the Gospels.  It is one of several such books that make up what is referred to as the New Testament Apocrypha.

The Pseudo-Mathew Account of the Birth of Jesus

In the Pseudo-Matthew account, the birth takes place in a cave and the infant Jesus is brought to a stable so the ox and the ass can adore him.  In it the wise men arrive two years after the birth.

CHAP. 14.–And on the third day after the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, the most blessed Mary went forth out of the cave, and entering a stable, placed the child in the stall, and the ox and the ass adored Him. Then was fulfilled that which was said by Isaiah the prophet, saying: The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib. [2] The very animals, therefore, the ox and the ass, having Him in their midst, incessantly adored Him. Then was fulfilled that which was said by Abacuc the prophet, saying: [3] Between two animals thou art made manifest.  In the same place Joseph remained with Mary three days.

(Note: The reference to Habakkuk is to an alternative translation of  Habakkuk 3:2 that is not found in the KJV)

Conclusion

What is the answer to the question: “Why are these  two animals in my Nativity Scene”?

The simple answer seems to be that not only were they in the original Nativity Scene or Crèche, but were central to it.  We now have a nearly eight hundred year tradition of including them and no compelling reason to leave them out.  That no less a personage than St. Francis is the source of their inclusion  adds considerable weight to their inclusion.

The influence of the quote from Isaiah 1:3 continues to support their inclusion and was likely important to St. Francis in his choosing to include them.

The roles that Pseudo-Mathew and the alternative translation of the Habakkuk verse played are problematic, but interesting for you to contemplate.  At a minimum, the manger scene in Pseudo-Matthew would have supported inclusion of the ox and the ass in subsequent Crèches throughout the Middle Ages.   It seems to have been widely circulated during that period.  I saw no evidence that either played a role in St. Francis’s design of the original Crèche,  but I did not search for any such evidence.  I leave that up to you.  Neither seem sufficiently known today for either to be playing a role in the continued inclusion in current Nativity Scenes.

In the words of Plutarch, your mind is not a vessel to be filled.  It is a fire to be kindled.  I trust this paper helps kindle your fire.  Hopefully it adds to your appreciation of Nativity Scenes and inspires you to further research. 

Stay curious and have a Merry Christmas.  Your comments are much appreciated.