Ahead of his return to the hermitage, two weeks before Christmas, Francis asked his friend, Lord of Greccio Giovanni Velita, to prepare a cave with live animals and a hay-filled manger.

Source: https://www.ncregister.com/cna/st-francis-and-the-story-of-the-first-nativity-scene-uwazrnkq

Altar of the Child Jesus and the relic of the manger in the Church of St. Catherine (Basilica of the Nativity) in Bethlehem.

Source: https://www.ncregister.com/cna/new-holy-land-virtual-advent-pilgrimage-hopes-to-fill-holy-sites-with-peace

Another group came as baby in his manger, Mary and the Three Wise Men.

Source: https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/11700485/fancy-dress-pubs-christmas-day/

Christmas is a profoundly Eucharistic feast because Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the “house of bread,” precisely to feed us, lying in a manger for all the hungry to approach.

Source: https://denvercatholic.org/the-eucharistic-gift-of-christmas/

Did Mary and Joseph have to enter an occupied territory on their way to the stable where the baby Jesus was laid in a manger?

Source: https://www.columbiavalleypioneer.com/a-trip-to-the-holy-land/

From there, the Gospel of the Nativity according to Luke was proclaimed, and the statue of Baby Jesus was placed in the niche, traditionally identified as the manger.

Source: https://www.ncregister.com/cna/midnight-mass-in-bethlehem-patriarch-addresses-gazan-christians-calls-for-end-to-war

In Glasgow, the former bar manger was drawn to the pubs and venues she loved in the city.

Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-66962523?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

It is the birth of the Christ child in the manger and the knowledge that he must die to save us.

Source: https://www.deseret.com/2023/12/24/24000476/christmas-joy-pain-memories-nostalgia-christmas-carol

One of the bystanders, a knight of Greccio named John of Velita, told of a vision of the infant Jesus in the manger as Francis preached.

Source: https://www.mississippicatholic.com/2023/12/04/thanks-to-st-francis-800-year-tradition-of-nativity-scene-born/

The fire symbolises that built by the shepherds to warm the baby Jesus in his manger.

Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-64194408?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

The first nativity is said to have been a live event — featuring a hay-lined manger and two animals, an ox and a donkey.

Source: https://www.postandcourier.com/news/carolina-nativity-creche-francis-assisi-mepkin-abbey/article_4c2aa4ea-a0dc-11ee-bf97-33d37a530932.html

We would have recognized the Savior in that manger, or so we assume.

Source: https://www.ncregister.com/commentaries/dorothy-day-on-true-joys-of-christmas