In 1223, St Francis of Assisi simply and joyfully commemorated the scene of the Nativity according to the infancy Gospel, and the Crib thus became one of the traditional and best-loved symbols of Christmas.

Today, however, amid a consumerist Christmas attitude, we are allowing ourselves to be stripped of our traditions, the dearest and most venerable, the oldest and sweetest, the truest and most beautiful, so that carelessly, through neglect or snobbery, we are abandoning Christ to follow the latest futile fad.

A sensitive Christian would not let anything replace the Crib. Commemorating the Crib means passing on the history of popular piety and religiosity. Putting up the Crib in homes and public places, not in a folkloristic manner but as a symbol of faith, prayer and offering, means rediscovering joy and the solidarity of friendship, the human tenderness of relations and the piety of souls of enchanted children and adults.

In advancement of faith, family and fraternity may we all strive to keep Christ in Christmas!

Paul Kokoski

Ontario, Canada