Nativity of Christ: History and Iconography of the Holiday

Christmas, or the Nativity of Christ, is one of the most important holidays not only in Christian history but also in modern culture. Countless texts, songs, and paintings are dedicated to the expectation of the birth of the Savior and the joy of this anticipation. But this holiday was particularly important for Byzantine and Old Rus’ painting.

Nativity of Christ: History and Iconography of the Holiday

In early Christian times, the Nativity had no fixed dates, and, as a rule, this most important event in evangelical history was remembered on the day of Epiphany. However, over the years, the interest of believers in celebrating the Savior’s birthday grew. Thus, the Christian philosopher Clement of Alexandria (c. 150–c. 215) conducted a whole study to establish the date of Jesus’ birth, which turned out to be December 25 (or January 7 according to the Julian calendar).

Judging by the surviving documents, by the second quarter of the 4th century, the Nativity of Christ was already celebrated in Rome, and in 379, St. Basil the Great established it in Constantinople. Later than all, in 430, Christmas began to be celebrated in Alexandria.

The oldest examples of the Nativity of Christ scene can be found in early Christian art. For instance, in the paintings of the 4th century in the catacombs of Saints Peter and Marcellinus in Rome, there is a scene traditionally interpreted as an image of the Mother of God on a throne, with the Child in her arms and the Magi worshipping Him. Similar scenes can also be found in the catacombs of St. Sebastian and other places, as well as on early Christian sarcophagi. It is characteristic that in such early Christian artworks, the emphasis was often placed precisely on the episode of the worship of the Magi, which would be passed on to later monuments.

Catacombs of Saints Marcellinus and Peter, Rome. Book plate of the photo by Wilpert, Joseph. Die Malereien der Katakomben Roms, 1903.

In icon painting, the Nativity of Christ scene appeared in the Middle Byzantine period. One of its earliest examples is an icon of the second half of the 10th century from the monastery of St. Catherine on Sinai. In such monuments, we see an already established and fully developed iconographic type of the feast. The Mother of God is seen on a bedding, with the Infant Christ next to her, in a manger, warmed by the breath of a bull and a donkey. Quite often, Saint Joseph is depicted next to the Virgin, immersed in heavy contemplation of the occurred events.

This iconographic type also developed in the Old Rus’ tradition. In the icons of the 15th century, the same Byzantine iconographic type is already clearly visible. At the same time, quite often, new scenes were added to such icons. For example, not only the Magi, who brought gifts to the Child, but also the shepherds, who were the first to bow down to Christ, began to play a special role. In the Late Middle Ages (16th–17th c. in Russian chronology), such icons would become especially detailed, and the compositions would include the entire Evangelical story, from the scene of the Nativity of Christ in the center to the Escape to Egypt and the Massacre of the Innocents, with the fate of little Saint John the Baptist who was saved from a terrible destiny, among others.

Nativity of Christ from the Church of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker in Gostinopolye. Circa 1475. Palazzo Leoni Montanari, Vicenza

It is also important to note separately the iconography of “What Shall We Bring Thee, O Christ,” or “The Synaxis of the Mother of God,” the feast celebrated in the Orthodox Church on the day after Christmas. This iconographic type is closely related to the classical variant of the Nativity of Christ. It was named after the first line of the Christmas poem by Saint John of Damascus: “What shall we offer Thee, O Christ, Who for our sakes hast appeared on earth as man? Every creature made by Thee offers. Thee thanks: The angels offer a hymn; The heavens a star; The wisemen gifts; The shepherds, their wonder; The earth, its cave; The wilderness, a manger. And we offer Thee the Virgin Mother.”

The Synaxis of the Mother of God. Yaroslavl. 1680–1690s. The State Russian Museum

One of the earliest examples of such icons is traditionally dated to the end of the 14th century; this Pskov icon is currently kept in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. The center of such compositions features the Mother of God and the Child in a manger, with the various groups of people around them, as well as anthropomorphic personifications of natural phenomena. They are all mentioned in the Christmas verse, and each brings their gifts to the Lord. Such icons became especially common at the turn of the 15th-16th century when they were actively used in the painting programs by the famous Moscow painter Dionysius.

Thus, the Nativity of Christ throughout Christian history has only been gaining significance, and each generation of Christian artists has found new forms for depicting this miracle.