When there is less than one month until Christmas, and in every home, the nativity scene is being prepared, it is good to remember the apostolic letter that Pope Francis wrote in 2019 in which he reflected on the meaning and value of the manager for the celebration of the birth of the Child Jesus.

In the apostolic letter Admirabile signum, which he signed on December 1, 2019, the Holy Father indicated that with the manger, “great imagination and creativity is always shown in employing the most diverse materials to create small masterpieces of beauty.”

“As children, we learn from our parents and grandparents to carry on this joyful tradition, which encapsulates a wealth of popular piety. It is my hope that this custom will never be lost and that, wherever it has fallen into disuse, it can be rediscovered and revived,” he added.

To welcome Pope Francis’ invitation, we present 9 facts about the meaning and value of the manger at Christmas.

1. The manger is like a “living Gospel”

Pope Francis recalled that the representation of the birth of Jesus is “like a living Gospel rising up from the pages of sacred Scripture” to invite men to “set out on a spiritual journey, drawn by the humility of the God who became man in order to encounter every man and woman.”

The evangelist Luke narrates that Mary “‘gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.’ Jesus was laid in a manger, from the Latin word praesepium.”

2. The origin of the symbol dates back to the time of Saint Francis

The Pontiff recalled that the history of Christmas cribs dates back to days after November 29, 1223, when Pope Honorius III approved the Rule of St. Francis of Assisi in Rome.

“Francis had earlier visited the Holy Land, and the caves in Greccio reminded him of the countryside of Bethlehem. It may also be that the ‘Poor Man of Assisi’ had been struck by the mosaics in the Roman Basilica of Saint Mary Major depicting the birth of Jesus, close to the place where, according to an ancient tradition, the wooden panels of the manger are preserved,” the Successor of Peter wrote.

Fifteen days before Christmas that year, in Greccio (Italy), the Saint expressed to a local man named John that he wanted to “bring to life the memory of that babe born in Bethlehem, to see as much as possible with my own bodily eyes the discomfort of his infant needs, how he lay in a manger, and how, with an ox and an ass standing by, he was laid upon a bed of hay.”

His friend fulfilled his wish, and on December 25, together with friars and others, Saint Francis found the manger full of hay, an ox, and a donkey.

The people “experienced a new and indescribable joy in the presence of the Christmas scene. The priest then solemnly celebrated the Eucharist over the manger, showing the bond between the Incarnation of the Son of God and the Eucharist. At Greccio, there were no statues; the nativity scene was enacted and experienced by all who were present.”

3. The manger shows God’s tenderness

The Holy Father pointed out that the manger not only "helps us to relive the history of what took place in Bethlehem," but also "shows God’s tender love" who, being the Creator of the universe, “lowered himself to take up our littleness.”

He also pointed out that “from the time of its Franciscan origins, the nativity scene has invited us to ‘feel’ and ‘touch’ the poverty that God’s Son took upon himself in the Incarnation" and “asks us to meet him and serve him by showing mercy to those of our brothers and sisters in greatest need.”

4. In the manger all of creation rejoices in the Feast of the coming of Jesus

In Admirabile signum, Pope Francis reflected upon the elements that make up the nativity scene that we have in our homes, such as the starry sky, the landscapes, the animals and the shepherds, which remember what the prophets had foretold, that: “all creation rejoices in the coming of the Messiah.”

He also noted that “the angels and the guiding star are a sign that we too are called to set out for the cave and to worship the Lord,” while “the shepherds become the first to see the most essential thing of all: the gift of salvation.”

5. The figure of Mary and the mystery of her calling

Regarding the figure of Our Lady, the Pontiff stated that “Mary is a mother who contemplates her child and shows him to every visitor. The figure of Mary makes us reflect on the great mystery that surrounded this young woman when God knocked on the door of her immaculate heart.”

“In her, we see the Mother of God who does not keep her Son only to herself, but invites everyone to obey his word and to put it into practice,” he added.

6. The figure of Saint Joseph as custodian of the family

The Pontiff stated that “at Mary’s side, shown protecting the Child and his Mother, stands Saint Joseph,” represented with the staff in his hand and, sometimes, holding a lamp.

Likewise, he recalled that this saint “is the guardian who tirelessly protects his family,” and that he does not hesitate to set out in the face of Herod’s threat. He was the first educator of Jesus as a child and adolescent, and “as a just man, he entrusted himself always to God’s will, and put it into practice.”

7. “When we place the statue of the Infant Jesus in the manger, the nativity scene suddenly comes alive”

In his letter, Pope Francis highlights that “when, at Christmas, we place the statue of the Infant Jesus in the manger, the nativity scene suddenly comes alive” because “God appears as a child, for us to take into our arms.”

“Beneath weakness and frailty, he conceals his power that creates and transforms all things. It seems impossible, yet it is true: in Jesus, God was a child, and in this way he wished to reveal the greatness of his love: by smiling and opening his arms to all,” he added.

8. The Three Wise Men remind us of our evangelizing mission

The Pope recalled that on the Solemnity of the Epiphany, it is customary to place in the nativity scene the figures of the Three Wise Men, who come from the East to contemplate the Child and offer him the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

This scene calls us “to reflect on the responsibility of every Christian to spread the Gospel,” he said.

Furthermore, he highlighted that the Magi, who thirst for the infinite, “teach us that people can come to Christ by a very long route.”

“They are not scandalized by the poor surroundings, but immediately fall to their knees to worship him. Kneeling before him, they understand that the God who with sovereign wisdom guides the course of the stars also guides the course of history, casting down the mighty and raising up the lowly. Upon their return home, they would certainly have told others of this amazing encounter with the Messiah, thus initiating the spread of the Gospel among the nations,” he added.

9. The manger “speaks of the love of God”

Pope Francis invited us to remember when we were children and impatiently waited for the moment to start building the nativity scene.

“These memories make us all the more conscious of the precious gift received from those who passed on the faith to us. At the same time, they remind us of our duty to share this same experience with our children and our grandchildren,” he remarked.

The Holy Father said that “it does not matter how the nativity scene is arranged,” since “it can always be the same or it can change from year to year,” because “what matters is that it speaks to our lives.”

“Wherever it is, and whatever form it takes, the Christmas crèche speaks to us of the love of God, the God who became a child in order to make us know how close he is to every man, woman and child, regardless of their condition,” he concluded.

The full apostolic letter can be read HERE.

This article was originally published on ACI Prensa.

Translated and adapted by Jacob Stein.