Antique and Vintage Nativity Scenes and Figures

A nativity scene is any depiction of the Baby Jesus in a manager, being watched by his mother, Mary, and her husband, Joseph. Usually, a nativity—which is also known as a manger scene, crib, crèche (French for "crib"), or presepio or presepe (Italian for "crib")—included other characters present in the biblical story in the hours and months after Jesus Christ's birth, including angels, shepherds, barnyard animals, and the three kings, also known as the three wise men. The earliest nativity was a live tableau featuring human actors and animals playing all the parts. St. Francis of Assisi is credited for orchestrating the first scene in an Italian cave near Grecio in 1223. The concept spread across Europe during the Middle Ages, and nativity came to mean either a tableau vivant or a figural diorama. Among the earliest known figural nativity scenes are crèche from 18th-century southeastern France featuring santon ("little saints"), or small, hand-painted figurines, made of terra cotta. Morovian Protestant immigrants brought nativity scene-building to America, founding towns like Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where the making of nativity scenes and putz villages continues today. In Germany, nativity scenes were frequently depicted in the spinning wooden Christmas pyramids that were popular before Christmas trees took hold in the early 19th century. However, nativities became associated with southern Europe, which was more Catholic, whereas Christmas trees were the traditional décor in northern Europe. In Catalonia, figural nativities began to include a character known as "the Caganer" (which loosely translates to "the Crapper"), usually a peasant man who squats, pants down in the corner of the barn. Sometimes, the Caganer has the likeness of a celebrity, politician, or even The Pope. Over the past two centuries, antique and vintage nativity scenes have been forged from every material under the sun, from die-cut paper, papier mâché, plaster, wood, and metal to fine porcelain and crystal. Goebels' Hummel ceramic nativity figurines, inspired by a German nun, are particularly treasured. In mid-century America, life-size or nearly life-size light-up blow-mold plastic nativity scenes became popular seasonal lawn ornaments.