Traditionally, the visit of the Wise Men, or the Magi, is celebrated at the Feast of the Epiphany on 6th January, 12 days after Christmas Day. However, scholars of the scriptures generally agree that the visit would have occurred sometime after the presentation of Jesus at the Temple, around 40 days after his birth, after which the family returned home to Nazareth (Luke 2 v39). The Bible account says that the Wise Men visited Jesus at a house (Matthew 2 v10), where they worshipped him and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. There were possibly as many as twelve Wise Men; the depiction of three of them in popular carols and art comes from the fact that there were three types of gift. This varied selection of Nativities feature the Wise Men, three of them, present at Jesus’ birth, as cultural tradition has it!
Beautiful life sized figures in the Frankincense shop, Notting Hill
Westminster Cathedral Shop window, displaying ornate Wise Men and Camel
St Paul’s Cathedral. the baby Jesus seems to be a little older, but the scene still appears to be a stable!
The Wise Men look as though they are sharing their joy that: They were in the right place! They had arrived at the right time! Matthew 2 v10, The Message Bible
Nativity at Southwark Cathedral, made by local school children
And finally, an inflatable Nativity at a private house. Brilliant!
This is St Peter’s Catholic Church in Clerkenwell Road EC1, known locally as the Italian Church. It was opened in 1863 for the 2,000 Italian immigrants living in the slums around Clerkenwell (no slums there now!) The notice board outside shows that services are conducted in English and Italian. I like the light shining down on the place where Jesus will be.
This beautiful Nativity is situated in the Crypt of St Martins in the Fields (hence the spiral staircase which can just be seen). The crypt itself is lovely, with a shop, a good café and facilities for doing brass rubbings. Well worth a visit. This nativity is made from oak with beaten copper and gold leaf, and was commissioned as part of the church’s Millennium celebrations, created by Peter Eugene Ball.
This Nativity also belongs to St Martin’s in the Fields and it’s outside in Trafalgar Square. It’s in a glass case so you can see all round it from different angles, and it looks like it’s really outside. I love it! This is called ‘Christmas Crib’ made by Tomoaki Suzuki, with costumes designed by Jessica Ogden.
St Martin’s has long been associated with working with homeless people, and every Christmas there are special services and events with admission charges so that proceeds can support their homeless charity. St Martin was a Roman Centurion, deployed to Londinium, who came across a beggar and tore his cloak in two, giving half to the beggar to keep him warm. That might be just a legend but it’s a lovely story and gives rise to the church’s heritage of helping those in need.
And now for something more classic, this is the Nativity in the Chapel of St Joseph in Westminster Cathedral (not to be confused with Westminster Abbey). A sign in the chapel tells us about Joseph, and I love the importance given to him as the ‘wise and loyal servant chosen by God to raise His Son’. What a responsibility for Joseph, but as Jesus’ stepfather he did a great job!
These photos were all taken last December. As it would have been impossible to visit these churches this year, I’m so glad I kept them, a reminder of a carefree Christmas time!
I’m planning to continue this Blog in 2021, fortunately I have lots of ‘material’ from previous visits to churches etc, in London. Hopefully, it won’t be too many months before I can visit my favourite city again. Thanks for reading, Happy Christmas and here’s to a hopeful, healthy New Year.
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