Information

The history of the creche - the French word for manger - dates back to the earliest days of the Catholic Church. Historically the first scenes appeared when the church members were forbidden to worship. The early scenes were painted on the walls of the catacombs. Slowly the creche or nativity scene became a staple of the Christian celebration of Christmas.

In 1223 St Francis of Assisi noticed a very disturbing trend. Each village would assemble a creche in front of their local church. But, these creches were very ornate including jewels, and some made of gold to indicate the wealth of the local church and its community. He did not believe that this was correct, that the nativity scene should be simple. The rich new ones had lost the message of that wonderful event.

So in 1223, he created the very first recorded living creche. It was located in a small cave in Italy. On that Christmas Eve night he and others acted out the first nativity scene with real people and animals. From this date forward nativity scenes were established with real people and animals slowly the small versions for households began to develop (James Trautman, Discovering Antiques, pg.12.)

How To Arrange A Nativity Set
(nativitysets.com)

Each figure in a nativity scene has meaning, and the manner in which they are arranged will contribute to the significance and visual appeal of an outdoor nativity scene. The following guidelines will help you to arrange a meaningful and accurate nativity set.
Nativity sets vary greatly in size and number of pieces, but there are still general rules that can be followed when arranging a nativity scene. Your goal should be to display a nativity scene that is as respectful and accurate as possible. Each figure has meaning, and a proper arrangement will add great depth and significance to a Christmas display.

The Central Figures: 
A standard nativity set has seven pieces, but nativity scenes can always be enhanced with new figures. Secondary nativity figures are best positioned as onlookers outside the circle of main characters mentioned in the Biblical nativity stories of Matthew and Luke.

The central position in any nativity scene should be occupied by the Christ child. He is the reason for the display. Your nativity set should include a stable and manger. Place the manger at the center of the stable. A nativity tradition is to not place the baby Jesus in the manger until Christmas morning, but it is not necessary to follow this practice.

The nativity figure closest to Christ should be His mother, the Virgin Mary. A common practice is to place the figure of Mary on one side of the Christ child and His father Joseph on the other. However, some nativity icons actually display Joseph at a distance from the manger, looking away from Christ with an old man representing Satan at his side. The purpose of this is to give place in the nativity scene to the role of doubt in human faith.

Spacing and Secondary Figures: 
Location will have some bearing on the spacing of nativity figures. An outdoor nativity set will obviously offer more space than an indoor nativity set, but if you are displaying high quality figurines such as Fontanini nativity pieces, you may wish to keep the scene inside.

Consider the nativity stories in the Bible when positioning secondary nativity figures. Place your nativity figures in concentric circles to emphasize their meaning and increase visibility.

If you have nativity pieces representing shepherds or the three wise men, these can be placed in the first circle. If you have both, placing the shepherds closer than the three Magi would be in keeping with the Biblical accounts, which indicate that the shepherds visited the Christ child before the three kings. In some outdoor nativity sets, a shepherd boy is used as a stand-in for shepherds.

The commonest secondary figures besides these are angels and animals. An ideal position for nativity angels is above your outdoor nativity set. If this is impossible, they may be placed within the stable behind the holy family.

The animals commonly used in nativity sets outdoors are sheep, oxen, and camels. The purpose of these figures is to remind you of the humbleness of Christ's birth, or in the case of the camels, the long journey of the Magi. The best way to incorporate nativity animals into an outdoor scene is to place them next to appropriate characters: sheep with the shepherds, camels with the three wisemen.