Nativity

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The image seen at the top of our wiki depicts the world renowned birth of Christ. At the base of the angelic painting we can see four human figures, of which two are men and two are woman. The man dressed in blue with his back to the viewer is Joseph while the woman across from him draped in light purple robes is Mary. These two are the easiest to identify for they are the only two in the entire drawing draped in somewhat dirty and pour clothing, for example the hooded tunic was a garment commonly worn by traveling folk. The other two human beings are the owners of the barn, the only people with a kind enough heart and enough room to allow Joseph and Mary a place to stay for the night. These two are identified in much the same way that Joseph and Mary were, by their cloths. The most obvious piece of the ladies outfit is her crown, which shows wealth, it is also something that would never be seen being worn by a traveler so a viewer can safely conclude that she had not been traveling. The crown has two meanings though, its second and more important meaning is that it symbolizes the woman’s infinite spiritual wealth, by this I mean her compassion and kindness she which she exercised by letting the traveling couple stay on their land. The man, and husband of the crowned lady, is painted wearing an undershirt picked out by the buttons. This means that he would have been asleep or about to sleep when called into the picture. Lastly we see the angles and the animals both portrayed in the background of the painting all of which bowing down to the new born lord.======

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The Nativity has been a major part of Christian Art since the 4th century. It is regarded as one of the most important event in Christian History, mainly because it marked the beginning of Christ`s life, therefore, the beginning of Christianity. Christians believe that Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the Messiah, and such is shown in almost all depictions of the Nativity by the emphasis that is put on Jesus. (in the image at the top of the screen, this particular artist put emphasis on Jesus by placing him in the center of the image.) Many people, such as shepherds and angels, come to visit Jesus after he is born to give Him their praise. The Nativity has influenced us today because we celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas based on the birth of Christ. The power of the Holy Spirit is also implied in depictions of the Nativity because it is by the Power of the Holy Spirit that Mary conceived Jesus. The Nativity is most important to the Christian faith because it shows that the birth and presence of Christ is something to be celebrated. Today, we do so by showing kindness, offering gifts, (like the Magi), and having feasts during Christmas.======

=Research---=


 * ======The nativity has been a huge part of Christian art since the 4th century.======

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· In the Gospel of Luke, Mary is told by the angel Gabriel that she will bear the New King, and He will be called Jesus. This is by the power of the Holy Spirit because Mary is a virgin. Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem where Mary gives birth to Jesus and places him in a manger. Many shepherds come to praise Him.======

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· In the Gospel of Matthew, Joseph learns of the impending birth of Jesus in a dream. A star in the sky tells a number of Magi, more commonly known as “The Three Wise Men”, to travel to Bethlehem to praise Jesus.======

**Works Cited--**

 * Images**

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Image Three: "Nativity scene, Cologne Cathedral." Allan T. Khol. ABC Clio: World History. November 11th, 2009. ======


 * Sources**

Source One: "The Nativity of Jesus." //Wikipedia.// October 17th, 2009. November 11th, 2009. 

 * ======We found this source through Google, obviously; it is a Wiki page. We were careful not to confuse "Nativity" and "Nativity Scene" while searching.======

Source Two: "The Nativity Pages." //Btinternet//. 2004. November 11th, 2009. 

 * ======This site was one of the resources on the Wikipedia page. We chose it out of the many for its detailed description of Jesus` birth.======

Source Three:
"Cologne Cathedral" Abc- clio 2002. November 11th, 2009. 
 * The databases did not offer much on the Nativity, at least out of what we were able to find. On this one, we just took what we could "

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**In this image, the representation of the scene is quite questionable, but again artists portrayed Nativity in many different ways. Mary is the one on the bed with two midwives giving a bath to the child.This painting is centering on the fact that Jesus was a "divine child" and we can infer from this that he's going to be baptize.**

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__The Nativity: Many Versions__
= = ===**Th**ere are a lot of paintings depicting the nativity of Jesus right now which allows the painter to portray different versions of this religious anecdote. The New Testament provides two separate accounts of the birth of Jesus: one in the Gospel of Matthew and the other in the Gospel of Luke. In the Gospel of Matthew, the birth is announced during a dream that Joseph had where he’s instructed to name the baby, Jesus. A star appears revealing that there’s a new king and that Jesus, the new Messiah, had been born. This star was revealed by the wise men or “magi”. Herod felt that Jesus was threat therefore he wanted to kill him, but luckily the magi received a warning of his evil plan. During the mission, the magi present Jesus with all sorts of gifts including gold and when they came back to their country they didn’t tell Herod the results of their journey. Joseph receives a warning from an angel and they run away to Egypt. In the Gospel of Luke, Mary learns from the angel Gabriel that she will bear her child, Jesus. At time, she and her husband traveled to Nazareth, but they didn’t seem to find a place to stay. So when she gives birth, she places her newborn on a manger in the barn where the shepherds come to worship him. Mary and Joseph take Jesus to Jerusalem to be circumcised, before returning to their home in Nazareth. Both versions do have the following similarities: They both believed Jesus of Nazareth was a son of Mary who was married to Joseph, a descendant of King David. They both present the idea that this was announced by the presence of angels, not as the result of marital relations, but of the power of the Holy Spirit. The images above are oil paintings depicting both versions of the story and were done at very different times. The Nativity of Jesus has been a major subject in Christian art since the 4th century. Its history goes way back to the Byzantine images, Western Images, and the Renaissance and after images which referred more to the nativity of Jesus in a cave. ===



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__Importance of the Nativity__
= = ===The important of the Nativity of Jesus lies in the fact that is celebrated every year during Christmas, the day when Jesus was supposedly born. In the first centuries the Feast of the Epiphany, celebrating the visit of the magical magi, was more important than Christmas. The first record we have of Christmas comes from 354 and the fist paintings come from Sarcophagi in Rome. At first these paintings were really simple, but later on they became more illustrious and rather detailed. These Nativity scenes or different paintings are located in churches or under Christmas trees to commemorate the Nativity of Jesus. This was important because they needed a holiday to celebrate their messiah or savior, Jesus Christ. The faith itself to be nurture because it’s as precious as a newborn child and it’s our gift from God as Christians. Christians absorb what their faith values from these pieces of art and the genealogy of Jesus. Christmas is all about giving, receiving, and just having fun time in the day of December 25th. Now people recreate these narratives and put them to action in Nativity Scenes to remember as Christians fundamental stories of their religion. ===





__**The Holy Icon**__
===**The traditional icon of the Nativity is from the 15th century. Saint Andrei Rublev was credited for this piece of work. The icon tell us the story of Christ birth from the Holy Scriptures but it also more deep into detail. This icon tells us about the creation that has taken part. The angels sang, the heaven gave a star,the earth gave the cave, the wise men gave gifts, and humanity gave the virgin. The holy Icon is an icon with various scenes.The mother, Theotokos, or virgin is very important in these scenes. Also we have to pay attention to Joseph, in many pictures that we have observed he looks rather depressed and disconnected and that's because he Know he's not the "real father" and Satan is trying to tell him that so he can manipulate the feast. The Holy Icons help us remember the significance of the birth of Christ and the symbolism of it which form a basis for Christianity. **===

=__**Research**__=

**1. M. Hadfield and J. Hadfield. "Christmas." //MAS Ultra - School Edition//. Ebsco, Jan. 2009. Web. 7 Nov. 2009.** ****

**2."Nativity of Jesus in art: Facts, Discussion Forum, and Encyclopedia Article." //AbsoluteAstronomy.com//. Web. 07 Nov. 2009..**

**3. Clark, Athanasios. "Feast of the Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." //Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America//. Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Web. 11 Nov. 2009. .**

**4.**** "Nativity scene: Facts, Discussion Forum, and Encyclopedia Article." //AbsoluteAstronomy.com//. Web. 07 Nov. 2009.  **

**Research Strategies :**

 * ===I utilized the search engine known as Google and from there I selected sites that would help me in terms of completion if this assignment. I used the same method with my images.===


 * Notes:**
 * Two versions: Gospel of Luke, Gospel of Matthew
 * Three wise men
 * Adoration of the Shepherds
 * Christian Art since 4th century
 * Byzantine images, Western Images, the Renaissance and after images
 * Christmas and the feast of the Epiphany
 * Nativity Scenes
 * The Holy Icon from the 15th centuries
 * Theotokos, the mother
 * Astronomy and the star (when a ruler is born)
 * The angels and their part
 * Jesus of Nazareth, a son of Mary and Joseph (descendant of King David)

Link: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.beamerfilms.com/catalog/images/ChristmasMorphCountdownThum.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.beamerfilms.com/catalog/sermon-countdown-videos-c-66&usg=__AG9UJLQ_tx57XEt6JUscKUT4foE=&h=180&w=240&sz=9&hl=en&start=44&sig2=AtyrLMeq_HstG-wGWoxHdw&um=1&tbnid=f4bH9-X7GexFZM:&tbnh=83&tbnw=110&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dnativity%2Bpainting%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN%26start%3D40%26um%3D1&ei=ZhD1Sq3-MYjU8AaQ-_nzCQ

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