On December 7, Pope Francis attended the opening ceremony. Bethlehem Christmas 2024, Nativity scene exhibition in St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome. One scene shows an olive wood sculpture of Mary, Jesus and Joseph by two Palestinian artists from Bethlehem, Johny Andonia and Faten Nastas Mitwasi. Mitwasi) design. Jesus is wrapped between the kneeling Mary and the standing Joseph. scarfa black and white scarf that symbolizes Palestinian heritage and resilience. He lies beneath a round mother-of-pearl starburst symbolizing the Star of Bethlehem, which is inscribed with the words “Glory to God in the Highest, peace on earth, and goodwill to all men” in Latin and Arabic.
After photos of Pope Francis visiting a nativity scene circulated online and sparked outrage, news outlets reported this week that the manger and turbaned baby Jesus had been removed from the Vatican display. The hijab itself has also gained widespread support in the past year and been the target of scrutiny, with human rights groups arguing that genocide is taking place in Gaza. Some social media users on platforms such as
Yet to condemn the nativity scene is to deny centuries of history by artists who have depicted the Holy Family in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian West Bank, as a marginalized, forcibly expelled and diasporic people.
The place of Jesus’ birth and those present are of profound significance in early Christian paintings by Byzantine artists, which depict the infant Jesus with a donkey and an ox under a “turugium” or tiled roof structure inside the Nativity Cave in Bethlehem, e.g. The Births of the Prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel (1308-11) by Duccio di Buonisenia.
However, Renaissance and Baroque artists began to place Jesus’ birth among Greco-Roman ruins—same ruins, explains scholar Andrew Hui, that were also the ruins of the religious and political systems into which Jesus was born and doctrinally overthrown Jesus.
Likewise, the race of the Magi, the three kings who followed the Star of Bethlehem to worship Jesus and bring the three gifts, and the clothing and behavior of the shepherds all reflect the growing popularity of Christianity through colonialism and forced conversion. Over the last century, artists have often used the Magi and Shepherds as tools to reimagine the Nativity during times of war, bigotry, and genocide.
During World War I, artists reimagined the Nativity against a backdrop of nationalism and mass destruction—soldiers in military uniforms acted as shepherds, and Jesus, Mary, and Joseph took refuge in bombed-out stables or trenches. Linoleum print “Kriegsweihnacht” by German artist Sella Hasse (1914) Claudia Siebrecht explains in her 2013 book Reimagining the Nativity as a Scene of Mourning Lost Aesthetics: The Art of German Women During World War I. A medieval knight bows his head to Mary’s left, as the naked bodies of dead soldiers rise behind them into the afterlife.
Artists were also displaced during World War II, including Polish artist Stanisław Przespolewski, who recreated images of Jesus, Mary and Joseph in traditional folk costumes. Przespolewski crafted an elaborate 1943 nativity scene featuring Mary dressed in Polish folk patterns and the Winged Hussar, a 16th-century Polish soldier in armor protecting his family. A contemporary WWII Polish soldier also stands outside the manger holding a rifle.
In 1968, a group of American artists led by Joey Skaggs built a Vietnamese nativity scene in Central Park. Vietnamese Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus sat in a manger covered with bamboo curtains, next to There’s a paper pig wearing a police hat and a gun. and badge. Dressed as American soldiers, they attempted to burn the pig to protest the war. Skaggs and several other protesters were ticketed for the “Vietnam Christmas Burn.” Skaggs told new york times“I want to make it clear that Christmas in Vietnam is not wonderful.”
