{"id":6600,"date":"2020-12-11T06:00:40","date_gmt":"2020-12-11T11:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/?p=6600"},"modified":"2021-01-31T12:53:51","modified_gmt":"2021-01-31T17:53:51","slug":"a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/","title":{"rendered":"A Christmas Tradition: Nativity Scenes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><em>Did you know \u2026?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Nativity scenes show Joseph, Mary, and the shepherds gathered around baby Jesus as He lies in a manger. This wonderful Christmas tradition we love began almost 800 years ago. In the country of Italy, in 1223, St. Francis of Assisi built a nativity scene outside his church.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Children inside the first nativity scene<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The children at the church stared at the manger scene in wonder. They went inside to take a closer look. They sang songs and thought about the gift of God&#8217;s Son, Jesus.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Nativity scenes grow more popular<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>These nativity scenes became more popular. Outdoor nativity plays were acted out in parks. In some cities in Europe, the plays would take place on the streets. The Christmas plays were performed in schools and theaters.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/2015\/12\/18\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/christmas-crib-figures-1060016_1280\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-9975\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft  wp-image-9975\" src=\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/christmas-crib-figures-1060016_1280-150x76.jpg\" alt=\"christmas-crib-figures-1060016_1280\" width=\"342\" height=\"173\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/christmas-crib-figures-1060016_1280-150x76.jpg 150w, https:\/\/devokids.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/christmas-crib-figures-1060016_1280.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 342px) 100vw, 342px\" \/><\/a>Nativity scenes sold <\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>By the 1700s, artists created nativity scenes to be sold in shops throughout Europe. These nativities were small enough to fit on tables in homes.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Nativity plays at Christmas Eve services<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Christmas Eve services were held by almost all churches in England and the United States by the 1850s. Soon, children began to act out the Christmas story at these services. The shepherds would follow a star to find Jesus, the newborn King, in a stable. Since Mary didn&#8217;t have a crib to lay her baby in, she placed him in a manger, a kind of wooden trough or box that animals eat from. These mangers were an important part of the nativity scene.<\/p>\n<p>After World War I, lighted manger scenes were displayed in churches and public buildings. By the 1950s, people began buying them as Christmas decorations for their own yards.<br \/>\n&#8211; Sandra Merville Hart<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Did you know \u2026? Nativity scenes show Joseph, Mary, and the shepherds gathered around baby Jesus as He lies in a manger. This wonderful Christmas tradition we love began almost 800 years ago. In the country of Italy, in 1223, St. Francis of Assisi built a nativity scene outside his church. Children inside the first [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":9974,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[586],"tags":[256,261,258,262,263,260,255,259,244,257],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>A Christmas Tradition: Nativity Scenes - Devo Kids<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Christmas Tradition: Nativity Scenes - Devo Kids\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Did you know \u2026? Nativity scenes show Joseph, Mary, and the shepherds gathered around baby Jesus as He lies in a manger. This wonderful Christmas tradition we love began almost 800 years ago. In the country of Italy, in 1223, St. Francis of Assisi built a nativity scene outside his church. Children inside the first [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Devo Kids\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DevoKids\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-12-11T11:00:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-01-31T17:53:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/christmas-1010749_960_720.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"903\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sandy Hart\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sandy Hart\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sandy Hart\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bf7e43d0315e783c6abe9d84476427fc\"},\"headline\":\"A Christmas Tradition: Nativity Scenes\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-11T11:00:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-01-31T17:53:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/\"},\"wordCount\":281,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/christmas-1010749_960_720.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Baby Jesus\",\"Christmas Eve services\",\"first nativity scene\",\"manger scenes\",\"Mary and Baby Jesus\",\"nativities\",\"Nativity scenes\",\"outdoor nativity plays\",\"Sandra Merville Hart\",\"St. Francis of Assisi\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Holidays Archives\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/\",\"name\":\"A Christmas Tradition: Nativity Scenes - Devo Kids\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/christmas-1010749_960_720.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-11T11:00:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-01-31T17:53:51+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/christmas-1010749_960_720.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/christmas-1010749_960_720.jpg\",\"width\":903,\"height\":720},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A Christmas Tradition: Nativity Scenes\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/\",\"name\":\"Devo Kids\",\"description\":\"Readers Are Leaders \u2014 Lead Your Kids to Christ\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"DevoKids\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/DevoKids-Facebook-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/DevoKids-Facebook-logo.png\",\"width\":400,\"height\":284,\"caption\":\"DevoKids\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DevoKids\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bf7e43d0315e783c6abe9d84476427fc\",\"name\":\"Sandy Hart\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/93e70ef4a99d97b1aad2686283d130a4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/93e70ef4a99d97b1aad2686283d130a4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sandy Hart\"},\"description\":\"Award-winning author Sandra Merville Hart loves to uncover fascinating historical facts for her novels and stories. She was an editor and writer for DevoKids for several years and is now Executive Editor. She\u2019s excited to be part of this fun, educational, and inspirational ministry for children. Sandra writes historical romance novels. A Musket in My Hands, where two sisters join the Confederate army with the men they love, is the 2019 Serious Writer Medal Fiction Winner and a Selah Award Finalist. A Rebel in My House, set during the Battle of Gettysburg, won the Silver Illumination Award. A Stranger on My Land was IRCA Finalist. Surprised by Love in \\\"From the Lake to the River\\\" is set during the disastrous 1913 flood in Troy, Ohio. Trail\u2019s End, in \\\"Smitten Novella Collection: The Cowboys\\\" \u201cSmitten Novella Collection: The Cowboys\u201d released on August 15, 2019. Not This Year is her nostalgic story in the \\\"Christmas Fiction Off the Beaten Path.\\\" Find her on her blog at https:\/\/sandramervillehart.wordpress.com\/.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/devokids.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/devokids.com\/author\/sandy\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Christmas Tradition: Nativity Scenes - Devo Kids","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Christmas Tradition: Nativity Scenes - Devo Kids","og_description":"Did you know \u2026? Nativity scenes show Joseph, Mary, and the shepherds gathered around baby Jesus as He lies in a manger. This wonderful Christmas tradition we love began almost 800 years ago. In the country of Italy, in 1223, St. Francis of Assisi built a nativity scene outside his church. Children inside the first [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/","og_site_name":"Devo Kids","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DevoKids","article_published_time":"2020-12-11T11:00:40+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-01-31T17:53:51+00:00","og_image":[{"width":903,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/christmas-1010749_960_720.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Sandy Hart","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sandy Hart","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/"},"author":{"name":"Sandy Hart","@id":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bf7e43d0315e783c6abe9d84476427fc"},"headline":"A Christmas Tradition: Nativity Scenes","datePublished":"2020-12-11T11:00:40+00:00","dateModified":"2021-01-31T17:53:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/"},"wordCount":281,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/christmas-1010749_960_720.jpg","keywords":["Baby Jesus","Christmas Eve services","first nativity scene","manger scenes","Mary and Baby Jesus","nativities","Nativity scenes","outdoor nativity plays","Sandra Merville Hart","St. Francis of Assisi"],"articleSection":["Holidays Archives"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/","url":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/","name":"A Christmas Tradition: Nativity Scenes - Devo Kids","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/christmas-1010749_960_720.jpg","datePublished":"2020-12-11T11:00:40+00:00","dateModified":"2021-01-31T17:53:51+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/christmas-1010749_960_720.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/christmas-1010749_960_720.jpg","width":903,"height":720},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/a-christmas-tradition-nativity-scenes\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A Christmas Tradition: Nativity Scenes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/","name":"Devo Kids","description":"Readers Are Leaders \u2014 Lead Your Kids to Christ","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/#organization","name":"DevoKids","url":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/DevoKids-Facebook-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/DevoKids-Facebook-logo.png","width":400,"height":284,"caption":"DevoKids"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DevoKids"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bf7e43d0315e783c6abe9d84476427fc","name":"Sandy Hart","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/93e70ef4a99d97b1aad2686283d130a4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/93e70ef4a99d97b1aad2686283d130a4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Sandy Hart"},"description":"Award-winning author Sandra Merville Hart loves to uncover fascinating historical facts for her novels and stories. She was an editor and writer for DevoKids for several years and is now Executive Editor. She\u2019s excited to be part of this fun, educational, and inspirational ministry for children. Sandra writes historical romance novels. A Musket in My Hands, where two sisters join the Confederate army with the men they love, is the 2019 Serious Writer Medal Fiction Winner and a Selah Award Finalist. A Rebel in My House, set during the Battle of Gettysburg, won the Silver Illumination Award. A Stranger on My Land was IRCA Finalist. Surprised by Love in \"From the Lake to the River\" is set during the disastrous 1913 flood in Troy, Ohio. Trail\u2019s End, in \"Smitten Novella Collection: The Cowboys\" \u201cSmitten Novella Collection: The Cowboys\u201d released on August 15, 2019. Not This Year is her nostalgic story in the \"Christmas Fiction Off the Beaten Path.\" Find her on her blog at https:\/\/sandramervillehart.wordpress.com\/.","sameAs":["https:\/\/devokids.com"],"url":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/author\/sandy\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/christmas-1010749_960_720.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3cft6-1Is","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6600"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6600"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6600\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9976,"href":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6600\/revisions\/9976"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devokids.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}