This rustic Christmas Stable
is approximately 17” wide, 11” tall at its peak, and 8.5” deep. The Christmas Stable is made of wood, bark and moss. The abundance of bark and moss used on the Christmas Stable gives it a true outdoor, rustic appeal. The Wooden Stable is a Fontanini original. The roof of the Wooden Stable is covered in lush sphagnum moss, and the roof outline has a thick bark trim. Along the back wall is a bark piece that holds up a small loft with hay on top it, which has a large ladder leading up to it. On the other side of the loft, the wall is covered in sphagnum moss. There are two wooden posts holding up the smaller of the two roofs. Attached to the wooden beams is a fence. In front of the fence is an olive tree. In the front of the Wooden Stable is a wooden fence. This Fontanini Stable is a beautiful start for your nativity scene decorations.
Select this link to impressive selection of Nativity Figurines.
The Christmas Crib
In the year 1220 St, Francis of Assissi visited Bethlehem. He liked the way the Christmas was celebrated there so much, that he asked the Pope for permission to recreate it in his own Italian village.
He built a manger in a cave. In it he placed a stone image of the baby Jesus. He surrounded the manger with real animals. Then he said a Mass (communion). The people found it so moving that they said it was possible to believe you were there at the actual birth of Jesus.
Before long, wooden nativity scenes were displayed in churches and homes across Europe. Today they continue to be popular as a way of reminding us of what Christmas is really about, the birth of Jesus.
The tradition was brought into Spain from Naples during the reign of Charles III of Spain.
In Catalonia, a figure is included that represents a Catalan peasant.
In Provence, in the South of France, nativity scenes are sometimes made up of hundreds of small painted clay figurines called Santon. They represent all the traditional trades and professions of old Provence. Because of their cultural value the Santons are often collected as art or craft objects, regardless of their possible use in a nativity scene.
A nativity scene, also called a crib or crèche, generally depicts the birth or birthplace of Jesus. Nativity scenes, in two dimensions or three, usually show Jesus in a manger, with Joseph, and Mary in a barn intended for the housing of animals. A mule, ox, sheep, and sometimes other barnyard animals, surround them. The scene sometimes includes three wise men, shepherds, angels and the Star of Bethlehem.