In dulci jubilo

This is the first line of a Latin German Christmas song.   

In dulci jubilo, nun singet und seid froh! Unsres Herzens Wonne, leit in praesepio und leuchtet als die Sonne matris in gremio. Alpha es et O.

In sweet jubilation, now sing and be joyous! Our heart's bliss rests in a manger and shines like the sun in his mother's lap. You are the alpha and omega.

And shines like the sun. This is the typical way you see Nativity scenes painted, whether in kitsch ...

 

... or in art:

     

Carlo Maratta (1625-1713): The Holy Night

Red Baron was always fascinated by Nativity scenes and, over the years, has taken numerous photos.

Nativity in the vestibule of Freiburg's Minster Church. While Mary presents the child to the shepherds,
Joseph sits next to the manger as a grumpy old man with his head in his hands.

I already wrote that foster father St. Joseph is embarrassing for the teaching Church. Paintings of the Holy Family frequently show the carpenter as a small, unimportant, and hidden figure, sometimes placed in a corner.

The one exception is the Nativity by Hans Baldung Grien. Looking at Joseph's white beard, there is no doubt that he isn't the father, but as a late satisfaction, he dominates the painting alone with his red coat.

In the nativity scene in a stained glass window in Freiburg's Minster Church, Joseph once more is pushed to the edge of the picture, but he makes himself useful by slapping the ox's mouth as it nibbles on Jesus' diaper.

But the nativity was not all glory when we read Luke 2, 16-19: And the shepherds came with haste and found Mary, Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.

Those pondered things may explain some of the Nativity scenes where both Mary and Joseph show great sadness: 

Woodcut around 1060: Maria im Capitol in Cologne

Baptismal font around 1150 in Abbey Church St. Boniface in Freckenhorst, Westphalia

Basilica di San Marco in Venice. North façade of St. Mark's Basilica, Venice

Nativity from the Book of Hours, Paris 1410

And when the days of Mary's purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, Joseph and Mary went to the temple where they met Simeon, who was waiting for the consolation of Israel. 

Luke 2 34-35: And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

The question is: Did the artists who created the above Nativities assume that Mary already knew in Bethlehem the prophecy Simeon had made in the temple of Jerusalem?

So it was not all in dulci jubilo in Bethlehem 2000 years ago, and this Christmas, with two wars waging, only a few people feel like singing and being joyous.

I just learned that Ukrainians are moving westward by no longer celebrating
Christmas on January 7, but on December 25. In Kyiv, this happens
under a Christmas tree made of military scrap (©Oleg Petrasyuk/EPA)

In German, we say Die Hoffnung stirbt zuletzt, where the proper translation and better expression in English is Hope is the last thing you lose.

 With this in mind, I wish all my readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

*