One of the characteristic elements of the annual celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ – one of the two most important Christian feasts, the other being Easter – is the creation of Nativity scenes, also known as Christmas crib scenes, showing the infant Christ lying in a manger in a stable surrounded by his mother Mary, his father Joseph, the shepherds with their sheep, the three kings and numerous other traditional figures.
Nativity scenes often have specific local or regional characteristics. Over the course of centuries, human creativity has come up with many different types of Nativity scene, including in Slovenia. Many different variants can be seen at the Nativity Museum in Brezje,
a famous centre of pilgrimage in the Gorenjska region, where there is a basilica dedicated to Mary, Help of Christians. The museum’s collection includes the personal Christmas crib of a nun from the former Dominican convent in Velesovo. The figures of the infant Jesus, St Joseph and the Virgin Mary are placed in a deep carved frame protected by glass – a sort of small glazed cabinet. Made of wax, dressed in silk garments and adorned
with gold and silver gilt decoration, they date from the mid-eighteenth century. Even older than Nativity scenes featuring crib figures and landscapes are depictions of Christ’s birth in painting and sculpture. Alongside Christmas cribs from Slovenia, the Brezje museum contains Nativity scenes from various parts of the world.
Janez Bogataj
