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Show Zht i)ristmas 0rib; Story of Its Origin Keproductions of the manger in w hich the child Christ first saw the light, c.r the Christmas crib, as it i.s commonly called, made its way to this country less than fifty years ago. Its coming was almost simultaneous with that of the Christmas tree. For both of these pictorial commemorations of the greatest festival of the Christian year we are indebted to Germany. The Christmas tree in America was long confined to the home of the German immigrant. Popularization came to us through England, where it was introduced intro-duced by Queen Victoria's consort. Prince Albert, on the occasion, it is said, of the first Christmas of the present pres-ent Prince of Wales. The Christmas crib, unlike the Christmas tree, was originally and remans largely ani expression ex-pression of religious faith and feeling. In the churches of the old world, it never fails to interest the traveler. In the Catholic churches of the -United States,-it has long ceased to be a novelty, nov-elty, while in the homes of Germans and many foreigners, fac similes of the crib of Bethlehem, hold place of honor beneath the Christmas tree. This lat ter custom is rapidly becoming Americanized Amer-icanized and importers of church furnishings fur-nishings state that every year there is increased demand for Christmas cribs for decorative and devotional use in the home. The principal figures are the infant Christ lying in the manger of straw. His Blessed Mother Mary, St. Joseph, an ox, an ass and shepherds. As many more figures may be added to the originals orig-inals as desired. T?ie figures are made of various composition, from the finest limoge at a cost of $1,500 a set, to plaster plas-ter paris at 60 cents a set. The latter come in little paper boxes, like doll furniture. They are made chielly for children, but often find their way into poor country chapels. The figures are painted in the traditional colors. Most of the cribs and their fittings are made in' Paris, Munich and Bavaria, Ba-varia, and their importation to this country is a growing factor in Christmas Christ-mas trade. To sieze upon the popular imagination imagina-tion and impress upon the unlearned the vital significance of the birth of the child Christ. St. Francis, with characteristic char-acteristic simplicity, conceived of a realistic representation of the stable of Bethlehem on that sacred night. As a medium of inculcating divine truth, the Christmas crib of the begging friar was in all probability the forerunner of the miracle, plays. Fearful lest he I should be accused of levity, St. Fran-I Fran-I jeis, we are told, would not carry out his original idea upon his own authority, au-thority, but sought permission from Pope Honorius HI. At the time St. Francis was living at Grecia, a little village not far from Assisi. When the eve of the nativity approached, he instructed in-structed a certain worthy man called Giovanni to prepare an ox and ass, a manger and all the common fittings of a stable; for his use in the church. Christmas eve, St. Francis and his brethren arranged all these things into a visible representation of the nativity scene at Bethlehem. The manger was filled with straw, the animals were led into their places, there were real shepherds from the neighboring hills. In startling and realistic detail the birth of the infant Christ was, reproduced, repro-duced, as it is to this day in the churches of Southern Italy. . The chronicles state that St. Francis knelt by this simple theatrical reproduction throughout the solemn vigil, sighing for joy and filled wh unmistakable sweetness. sweet-ness. From that time the Christmas crib has made its way into almost every Catholic church throughout the world, but nowhere with more picturesque pictur-esque and telling effect than in the Ara-Coeli, the famous church of the Franciscan friars at Rome, the mendicant mendi-cant order founded by St. Francis of Assisi. One of the side chapels is devoted to the nativity. During the yule tide it is the mecca off-he populace and tourists tour-ists tarrying Rome. In the foreground fore-ground is a grotto, in which is seated the Virgin Mary, with St. Joseph at her side, and the miraculous Bambino in her lap. Immediately behind are an ass and an bx, as recorded in scripture scrip-ture and depicted in the master paintings paint-ings of the nativity- On one side kneel the shepherds and kings in adoration. Above, God, the father, is revealed, surrounded by legions of cherubs and angals playing- instruments, as in the paintings of Angelico and Raphael. In the background is a clever scenic representation rep-resentation of a pastoral landscape. Far away shepherds guard their flocks, reposing under palm trees or standing on green slopes; which glow in the sunshine. The perspectives are admirable. ad-mirable. In the middle ground is a I crystal fountain near which sheep, made of rear wool, are feeding, tended by figures1 of shepherds carved out of wood. Still nearer come women bearing great baskets .'jot real oranges and other fruits on their heads. Ail the figures fig-ures in the foreground are life size, carved in wool, painted and dressed in appropriate colors. The miraculous Bambino is a painted doll, swaddled in white dress, which is incrusted in magnificent mag-nificent diamonds, emeralds and rubies. ru-bies. The Virgin also wears in her ears superb diamond pendants. The jewels are the votive offerings of kings, queens, princesses, people of blood and wealth, - in gratitude for answers to their prayers.. . The general effect of the crib is: wonderfully beautiful, and crowds flock to it all day long. Erected round one of the antique columns of the church, opposite the crib, is a stage. There, while the people venerate vener-ate the infant Christ in the .crib, little girls, .plainly but neatly dressed and wearing veils on their heads, recite, with every kind of pretty gesticulation, j sermons, dialogues and little speeches explanatory of the scene portrayed in the grotto. The preachers are always little girls from 10 to 12 years old. Boy are too fond of play to go through the drilling imposed upon these liliputian preachers. Their faculties are less developed de-veloped at that age than are those of the girls. Then they know that when they grow up they may become priests and preach real sermons, while its the girls' only chance, for when they are older they "must be silent la the churches." The dialogues are in Italian -poetry. They are written for the little preachers preach-ers by their priests or some religious friend and committed to memory and practiced ;vith. appropriate gestures over and over again at home. The J children are often very beautiful and J graceful, and their, gestures and intonations, into-nations, their clasping of hands and t - - r Y . , v - rolling up of eyes are amusing and interesting. in-teresting. The little preachers are verj human. Sometimes one pouts, shrug: her shoulders and refuses to go on wit! her part. An understudy, however stands ready to take her place, unti friends have coaxed. reasoned oi threatened the little pouter into obedience. obedi-ence. For the most part the little preachers speak as nature teaches them. Standing with one arm rounc the other's waist, the principal point; to the figures in the manger scene. Sht aks who he is and the beautiful lady. is she his mother and the venerabk man, is that his father? How came he to be laid in a manger? In answering these questions, her companion givef a clear outline of man's creation, fall and redemption. The carriage of the Bambino was formerly the property of the Prince of Forlonia, who left it in his will for the use of the Bambino in visiting the sick. As a rule people desiring the Bambino send their own carriage for it. When they are without that luxury, the carriage car-riage of the prince is used. A priest's stole, hanging from the carriage window, win-dow, tells the populace that the Bambino Bam-bino is en route to visit the sick and every hat is lifted, every knee bent. Ages ago, it was customary to leave the Bambino for some time on the bed I of the sick, but an audacious woman, wo-man, desiring to appropriate the holy image and its benets, had another doll made of the same size and appearance as the Bambino, then feigning illness, obtained permission to have it left with her. Dressing, the false image in the clothes of the real Bambino, she sent it back to Ara-Cceli. How the fraud ; i was discovered and the Bambino returned re-turned to its shrine is poetically related by T. ,B. Aldrich. On a stormy night, so runs the legend, the Franciscan monks were wakened by furious ringing ring-ing of bells and thundering knocks at the west door of the church. Hastening Hasten-ing thither they could see nothing but a wee. naked ping foot, peeping in from under the door. Opening the door where stood without, shivering in the wind and rain, the little naked figure of the true Bambino of Ara-Coeli. The i false. baby Yv-as sent back and the real baby' restored to its home, never again to be trusted away alone. That is the i reason why attendants go with it in its coach to the homes of the sick. The cures which are attributed to the in1' tercession of thi-s miracle child, have . spread its fame throughout the cenr- j turies, until today "Itls loved by high and low. And adored alike by simple and wise." LI DA ROSE M'CABE. |