Faith in the Home: The Nativity

In this Faith in the Home article, Dr Antonia Braithwaite discusses how the family Nativity scene reminds us to keep Christ at the centre of Christmas and reflect His love in our daily lives.

As December begins and families start to decorate their home, one tradition invites us to pause amid the bustle and refocus our hearts on the ‘reason for the season’: setting up the family Nativity scene. This is more than a nostalgic decoration, the nativity scene is a quiet catechist — a visual reminder that God chose to enter our ordinary world through the simplicity of a family, in the poverty of a stable. It’s good for families to have a nativity scene on display in their home.

The first Nativity scene was created 800 years ago by St. Francis of Assisi. He wanted people to grasp the wonder of the Incarnation, and so he arranged a humble manger with hay and live animals and towns people to play the roles of Mary, Joseph and the shepherds.

For parents today, the Nativity scene offers a beautiful way to keep Christ at the centre of the season. While children naturally look forward to Father Christmas and the joy of giving and receiving gifts, a family Nativity scene helps ensure that the story of Christ’s birth remains at the heart of the celebration in their home.

Throughout Advent the nativity scene should have an empty manger, and then on Christmas morning the little figure of baby Jesus is placed in the manger. He is born! Some families have the tradition of gathering round the Nativity scene first thing on Christmas morning, or after Midnight Mass, and placing baby Jesus in the manger before any presents are opened.

The Nativity also reminds parents that holiness grows in ordinary family life. The stable was not perfect or polished, but it was filled with love. When we show humility, patience, forgiveness, and joy in our homes, we reflect the same light that shone that first Christmas night.

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