Bisbee daily review., 1916-12-17

-rt AANAAAi- ifsst'N We f--N A-A+fNAAA H Christ. which one Sc2; occa sionally in the churches Of this country are not to he compared with those of Europe. especially the remark able ones r.ade by the peasants of It ally and of the Tyrol In the latter country there has been of recent years a decided revival of inicrcs; in these groups representing the nativity of Christ.
 It is not unusual tO see one with sev- eral hundred figures Noi alone the birth Of the Saviour. hHt the adnratiOn of the shernerdS. the arrival of the kings with their soldiers and caurtiers the flight into Egypt. Jesus in the tenn pie. and even the marriage at Cana are represented
 The TyrOl's cribs have hcen famous for centuries. and the reoplc were just ly proud of them until the spirit Of modern enlightenment" invaded the land and crib building was denounced as child'S play. EntcrpriSin= antiqua- rians and art sellers eagerly bought up all the old cribs and then sold them al good profit to tourists.
 Many fine specimens have disappear ed from the land. but fortunately few of the Pest were acquired by na- tiOnal museums. The best two Tyrol k known to have had, the "UrSulinen- krippe" of Innsbruck and the Moser crib of BoZen. are now in the Bavarian National museum at Munich. \ third. the Jaufenthaler crib. is in the Vienna museum.
 Originally if belonged 10 a family in Wilton. now part of Innsbruck. l. contained 154 animal figures. 2l build ings and 2j6 human figures It in cludcd solid wo0dclrvings. figures the heads of which were wax and others whose heads and limbs were movable Some of these date back as far as the year 1TOO. Seven scenes were repre- seEted
 The MOser crib of BoZen was much more extensive. MOser's city was in itself masterpiece and included pal aces. gushing fountains. monuments of King David and towers with six city clocks striking the hours of the night. It was valued at more than SJ.0O0 during MoSer's lifetime.
 The Ursulines' crib was particularly famous on account of the gorgeous dressing of the figures. The angels were clad as courtiers of heaven in the rich court costumes of the seven teenth century.
 These masterpieces are now lost to Tyrol It can hardly cause surprise, then. that serious minded men began to entertain grave Tears for their re- maining works of art This fear had a practical result in the formation of a society whose objec. was Is prevent in future the reckless eXportatiOn and selling of old cribs and to revive the spirit that produced them.
 Tyrolese cribs may be divided into two general classes, the oriental type and the Tyrolese. In the latter class the crib owner takes it for granted that Christ was born in Tyrol, hence scenery. people and dress are purely Tyrolese. In all the cribs the stable cf Bethlehem is either the ruin of castle according to legend. Christ first saw the light of day in the ruins of the tower of David or part of temple to show that the stable of Bethlehem was the first Christian temple, Or else it is d simple cave on the mountain side.
 The stable of Bethlehem and its in- mates always remain the center of the great scene, the rest is merely the set ting. The crib means much to the family. After weeks of careful. pain stalking labor everything is ready, but the holy family is not there. After supper on Christmas eve the parents, domeStics and children gather about the crib. the gospel scene is read aloud, and the little ones. quick to detect the absence of the "Christkind." are told that the holy family are still seeking shelter and finding none. The sadness that at first expresses itself on their innocent faces soon gives way to joy as they recall that perhaps there IS room in their own hOme-at least they will make room At midnight the SOL emn church bells call all to mass, and when the family returns. 10, there lies the infant in the manager, while Mary and Joseph kneel in humble adoration at its side