An Interesting Artefact

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There has always been tension in popular culture between an emphasis on the Nativity as the central feature of Christmas and the focus on the Gift-Bringer (Santa Claus, Père Noël, De Weihnachtsmann, etc. and his or her gifts. Religiously conservative Americans have tried to show subordination of Santa to the Baby Jesus by showing him kneeling by the cradle as in this ornament.

Another approach, unique in my experience, is the work of a Russian wood-carver who has the Father Christmas figure revealing the Nativity scene beneath his robe.

 

 

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