This gorgeous Fontanini Nativity Manger
is approximately 12” long, 10” at its peak, and 6.5” deep. The manger is constructed of wood, moss, and bark. The nativity set includes 5 figurines: Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus (detachable), donkey, and sheep. The figures are made of a child-friendly polymer to resist breakage. All pieces hand painted in Italy. The manger has a lush sphagnum moss covered roof and wooden walls. The roof has a bark overhang which is held up by a wooden post. There are two wooden posts in the back of the manger. On the front right corner there is a bark piece. The walls and ground are also covered in green moss. There are five separate pieces. Joseph stands 4.5” tall. He is kneeling on one knee in a tea rose pink tunic with a coral colored cape wrapped around his shoulders. He has a khaki sheath over his head. Joseph also has a staff in his left hand. Mary kneels before Jesus in a coral pink gown with a lavender sheath over her head. She has gold cuffs and gold trim around the neckline and is 4” tall. Jesus lies in a straw filled manger. He is not attached to the manger. Jesus has a white blanket wrapped around him, and lays with his hands outstretched. The manger is 2.5” x 2”. The donkey is about 3.5” tall. His fur is ecru colored and his legs are a goldenrod color. The sheep is 2.25” tall and has goldenrod coloring. All pieces are hand painted to look antiqued. Story cards included.
Adeste Fideles, also known as “O come all ye Faithful“, is a traditional tune first written in 1742 by John Francis Wade.
John Francis Wade was born about 1711, in England. He was a Catholic layman who fled England due to religious persecution and settled in Douai, France. He made his living, there, by copying and selling plain chant and other music. He also taught music at the English College and produced beautiful copies of chant and hymn manuscripts for local chapels and private use. His famous “Adeste Fideles” appears to have been written by at least 1743, and possibly as early as 1740.
The hymn has been translated into English many times. The most popular is by an English priest, Frederick Oakeley. He was born September 5, 1802, in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. His father was Charles Oakeley, governor of Madras. Frederick attended Christ Chruch, Oxford, and took Holy Orders with the Church of England in 1828. By 1839, he was preaching at the Margaret Street Chapel, in London. There, in 1841, he translated the Latin hymn Adeste Fideles into English.
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