More than just the manger: Czech nativity scenes mirror everyday life

Nativity scenes celebrating the birth of the baby Jesus have a long tradition in the Czech lands, dating back to 1560, when the first such scene was introduced here by the Jesuits at their college in Prague. Today they are one of the most visible symbols of Christmas.  

Nativity scenes are an integral part of Christmas in Czechia; you will find them on town squares, in churches, museums and in people’s homes. They are made from a wide range of materials such as wood, paper, lace, gingerbread, corn husks, ceramics, wax or tin. And they come in all shapes and sizes – from life-size figures of real villagers on a town square to a minute nativity scene cradled inside a hazelnut sold on a Christmas market. Some of the nativity scenes even play Christmas carols.

Photo: Václav Marian, Museum of West Bohemia in Pilsen

Many people have nativity scenes in their homes, which they bring out for Christmas, often with with the added value of personal memories since they have been handed down from their parents or grandparents. Those creating them today are hugely imaginative in both the materials used and the people and places depicted.

Traditionally, wood is the most common material used for nativity scenes. Probably the most famous one in Czechia is the one displayed in the town of Třebechovice in East Bohemia. The almost seven-meter-long mechanical nativity scene is composed of over 2000 parts. It features not only the birth of Christ but also his death on the cross.

In Kryštofovo Údolí in the Liberec region, the local museum this year prides itself in a new exhibit made of glass, created by glassmakers Eva and Karel Urban. The glass nativity scene is meant to depict the village of Kryštofovo Údolí and life there in both past and present times. Viewers will recognize the local astronomical clock and various cottages.

Photo: Municipality of Kryštofovo Údolí

The town of Loštice near Olomouc prides itself on a wooden nativity scene featuring the famous Moravian painter Alfons Mucha ,composer Leoš Janáček, and other well-known figures whom woodcarver Jaroslav Beneš included in the scenery.

The Prague Church of Saint Anthony of Padua displays a wooden nativity scene from 1904 where all the figures are dressed in the folk costumes of different Slavic nations.

Photo: Václav Marian, Museum of West Bohemia in Pilsen

The West Bohemian Museum in Plzeň features around 80 donated family treasures –among them a nativity scene by Václav Tilinger from Plzeň, which he created in the trenches in Italy during Christmas in 1917. The exhibition’s curator Martin Chmelensky explains:

“After the war Tilinger brought the nativity scene home and his descendants later donated it to our museum. You can see that he was homesick in how it is fashioned. We can see the silhouette of Prague Castle; a classic rural room, a couple in traditional dress, and a cradle with the baby Jesus. The national motif is clear.” he explains.

According to Vratislav Altman, chairman of the Plzeň Nativity Scene Makers’ Association, many pieces were inspired by the environment of their maker –such as that made by Walter Hössl.

“It’s a brewers nativity scene, with the Holy Family in a barrel. It’s a beautiful wood carving made of linden wood. What’s magical are the faces – whether of the drinkers or the brewers.The brewers are shown pushing barrels on wheelbarrows, and coopers can also be seen. It is a monastic brewery, so you can see monks drinking,” Altman adds.

So how do Czech nativity scenes differ from those abroad? Vratislav Altman explains:

Nativity scene by Josef Lada|Photo: Michal Sladký, Czech Radio

“Czech nativity scenes largely follow the tradition of artists like Lada, Aleš and Wenig, with an emphasis on folk life. That means traditional costumes, villagers, craftsmen and musicians. They reflect everyday life in a given region. They differ for example, from Bavarian nativity scenes, which are dominated by biblical figures. Or nativity scenes in the so-called alpländische style – an Alpine landscape with one hut, the Holy Family and at most three figures with sheep. And that’s it. French nativity scenes are a bit more like ours in that they focus on village or small-town life. There are craftsmen, all kinds of animals, and the Holy Family is somewhere in there – sometimes it’s even hard to find them,” Altman concludes.

Nativity scenes are traditionally brought out on the first Sunday of Advent and are packed up on February 2nd marking the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple, 40 days after Christmas.