Christmas nativity scene COBI 20006 - Special Collection

You know that:

• The tradition of arranging nativity scenes dates back to 1223 and was founded by Francis of Assisi.
• When, in 1223, Francis was invited to spend Christmas at the estate of the Italian nobleman Giovanni di Velitae, he decided to prepare a Nativity scene for the local villagers.
• He modified a chapel on a nearby rocky hill and arranged the interior in the form of a poor barn.
• Before midnight on December 24, he called all the villagers to go up to the chapel. The approaching crowd saw a donkey and a calf in the light of the torch path. When it was half past the bells rang throughout the estate. It was such a powerful experience for the watching villagers that they started preparing nativity scenes every year from then on. The tradition gradually spread to all corners of the world.
• The nobility and rich townspeople had their own nativity scenes carved out of ebony wood. These were gradually improved and mechanical elements were added.
• From the 17th century, Franciscans installed nativity scenes inside temples until banned by Joseph II. and thanks to this ban, cribs spread to the homes of poor villagers, who made them from various materials such as wood, stone, corn leaves, or even dough.
• Today, nativity scenes even have their own association founded in 1950 by the Italian Angelo Stefanucci.
• There are several world-famous Nativity scenes in the Czech Republic, some of which are under monument protection.
• Mr. Libor Pištelka from Švábenice probably has the largest collection of nativity scenes in the world, with 1,500 specimens.

Important Czech nativity scenes:

• Rouh's nativity scene from Velešín
  Kryza manger
  Mohelnice nativity scene
  Žižkov nativity scene
  Třebechovic nativity scene
  The baroque nativity scene of the Capuchins in Prague
  The largest nativity scene in the world by carver Jiří Halouzka

Carole Nelson Douglas:

"Christmas is a time when you get homesick, even when you're at home."