Two animals whose presence legend ascribes to the stable where the baby Jesus was laid. The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew claims that they knelt in adoration at the manger. They are frequently depicted in Nativity art and symbolically represent Jews and Christians or the sacrificial and the redemptive aspects of Jesus. Isaiah 1:3 is held to be a prophecy of the ox and ass. A mistranslation of the Greek version of Habakkuk 3:2 led some to read “between two beasts thou art made known” instead of “in the midst of the years make (it) known.”
The notion that oxen (and other animals) go down on their knees at midnight on Christmas Eve in memory of the Nativity is a widespread legend but it has its regional variations. In some places folk insist that tears run down the cheeks of their cattle as they kneel while others claim that only the three-year old oxen (or seven-year old) bend low, as this was the age of the animals in the Bethlehem stable.