Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1916-12-13

first resting place Of the infant
Christ, which one sees occa-
sionally In the churches Of this
country are not to be compared with
those Of Europe, especially the remark
able ones made by the peasants of It.
ally and Of the Tyrol In the latter
country there has been Of recent years
a decided revival Of interest in these
groups representing the nativity Of
Christ.
1t Is not unusual to see one with sew
eral hundred figures. Not alone the
birth Of the Saviour, but the alteration
Of the shepherds. the arrival Of the
kings with their soldiers and courtiers,
the flight into Egypt, Jesus In the tenn
pie, and even the marriage at Cana
are represented.
The Tyrors cribs have been famous
for centuries, and the people were just
ly proud Of them until the spirit of
modern enlightenment" invaded the
land and crib building was denounced
as child's play. Enterprising antigua
rians and art sellers eagerly bought up
all the old cribs and then sold them at
good profit to tourists.
Many fine specimens have disappear
ed from the land, but fortunately
few of the best were acquired by ma
known to have had, the "Ursulinen-
krippe" Of Innsbruck and the Moser
crib of BoZen, are now In the Bavarian
National museum at Munich. A third,
the Jaufenthaler crib, is In the Vienna
museum.
Originally it belonged to family in
| Wilten, now part of Innsbruck. 1t
contained 154 animal figures, "a build
ings and 258 human figures. 1t IN
Guided solid woodcarvings, 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 100. Seven scenes were repre-
sented.
The Moser crib Of Bozen was much
more extensive. Mosers "city" was In
itself a masterpiece and included pal
aces, gushing fountains, monuments
Of King David and towers with six
city clocks striking the hours of the
night. 1t was valued at more than
$1,000 during Mosers 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. 1t can hardly cause surprise,
then, that serious minded men began
! to entertain grave fears for their re-
naming works of art. This fear had a
practical result in the formation Of
society whose object was to prevent IN
! future the reckless expectation 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 1t for granted
that Christ was born in Tyrol, hence
scenery, people and dress are purely
Tyrolese. In all the cribs the stable
Of Bethlehem Is either the ruin Of a
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 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 a
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 manger, while Mary
and Joseph kneel in humble alteration
ut Its side.