The Crib And The Christmas Tree
The traditions of Christmas that exist in the world are many and full of beauty. Among the most popular are the crib and the Christmas tree, which during the days of Our Lord's nativity attract many people; children, adults, parishes and religious communities. The representation of the nativity of Our Lord with the crib goes back to the first centuries of Christianity. The most ancient that we know goes back to the year 343 AD.
In Rome the Basilica of Saint Mary Major is known as "S. Maria ad Praesepium," because in ancient times (6th century) a chapel was built in it that resembled the grotto of the Nativity at Bethlehem.
The crib was very often represented in the art of the middle ages. In relation to this we know well the tradition initiated by Saint Francis the night of Christmas 1223, when in a grotto of Greccio he placed an image of the Child Jesus beside an ox and a small donkey. After Saint Francis and above all through the Franciscans, the representation of the mystery of Christmas with the crib spread throughout the whole Christian world and from the churches it entered the private homes of the faithful.
The elements that make up the crib are almost all biblical and evangelical. This is clear for the presence of Jesus, Our Lady and Saint Joseph, the Angels, the shepherds and the three kings etc., but it also manifest for the ox and the donkey, whose presence in the sacred representation is defended with the words of the Prophet Habacuc and, above all of the Prophet Isaiah who affirms: "The ox knows its owner, and the ass its masters crib" -Is 1,3.
The psychological and rational grounds for the crib seem to be principally two: one of a strictly human nature, the other of an elevated spiritual and religious nature. As regard to the first, it seems that the great growth of the depiction of the Nativity in the Catholic world must be ascribed to the fact that the faithful have always instinctively considered the setting up of the crib as an idealization and almost a projection on the religious plane of the family itself, considered rightly the essential nucleus of human affections.
As regard to the second, that it must be found in the great love for out Lord's humanity, that in the Middle Ages was very popular with the faithful. A good example of this love are the words of Saint Francis to John Velita, his friend and supporter, who had given him a mountain covered in woods next to the town of Creccio, where in 1223 Saint Francis celebrated Christmas in a way that had never been seen before in the world: "I wish, at least once to celebrate solemnly the coming of the Son of God in this world and to see with my own eyes how poor and miserable He wished to be when He was born out of love for us."
The origin of the Christmas tree seems more recent. According to some it goes back to 1611, and was begun by the Duchess of Brieg. According to others, the idea came to Martin Luther when he saw a beautiful starlit sky through the trees of a forest. Originating in Germany, it then spread to England and the Anglo-Saxon world, to Russia, France and Northern and Central Italy. Today the tradition has spread even more and sometimes to the detriment, the loss of the crib.
What is it significance? Probably the Christmas tree is older than the dates indicated and could be considered the continuation of some ancient agricultural rite. So its origin and significance would be pagan. Christians have sought to exercise this pagan aspect, giving a double explanation for the Christmas tree. Some associate it with the legend of the Cross that was made from the tree that grew from the mouth of the deceased Adam. Others consider it a symbol of the tree of life to which the Book of Genesis and Revelation refer - cf. Gen 2,9; 3-2. Rev. 22,2: the Tree of Life, namely Jesus Himself.
Our preference as Catholics is for the crib. However, we are not opposed to the Christmas tree so long as it is stripped of all its pagan significance with which it has sometimes been connected. Furthermore, it must be said that the practice in many Christian families of placing the Christmas tree beside the crib is most positive. In this way both traditions are joined together in a fraternal and peaceful spirit which is proper to the festivity of the birth of Our Savior.
Source: Fr. Gerardo Di Flumeri.