medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
A merry and blessed Christmas season to all.
At 5:28 PM -0800 12/24/02, Phyllis Jestice wrote:
>Today (25. December) is the feast day of:
>
>The Nativity (c. 4 BCE)...[snip]...While the nativity was depicted in art as
>early as the fourth century, my impression is that the birth and infancy of
>Christ really only took center stage in the second Christian millennium.
>Isn't it only in the eleventh and twelfth centuries that most of the baby
>teeth, swaddling clothes, umbilical cords, etc. of Jesus were "discovered"?
I seem to recall being told in church that the Epiphany was
celebrated in the early church quite a while before the Nativity
became a major feast. The "light" symbolism is certainly there in the
liturgy of Epiphany. ("A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory
of thy people Israel...")
I was fascinated to discover (can't remember the source, sorry) that
the site that owns at least one of the "swaddling clothes" relics
claims that the swaddling bands are actually an old pair of hose
belonging to St. Joseph. Imagine, a baby swaddled in Daddy's old
socks.....<grin>
--
_________________________________________________________
O Chris Laning
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+ Davis, California
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