Wooden Nativity Scene – Little House

Full of sacredness and sincere hopes, Christmas symbolizes the purity and spirituality that the coming of Jesus Christ bestows.
Many canonical and apocryphal texts about the birth of the Son of God have survived.
Thinking of them, people for two millennia, each in their own way, have shown reverence to
Jesus — in prayer, songs, or ritual actions. Among them is the tradition of setting up
shopka — a composition of the Nativity of Christ.

Depending on the country, “shopka” has different names. This word, like the tradition itself,
migrated to the Ukrainian language from Poland. Initially, it was placed from the Nativity of Christ to the Meeting of the Lord in churches,
but later miniatures of the Bethlehem stable appeared in the homes of wealthy Ukrainian families.

Outwardly, the stalls resemble a nativity scene chest or a hut depicting the night when the Savior was born.
In Ukraine, they began to be mass-produced in the 20th century from wood, clay, and paper.
Nowadays, the largest stall is installed in the Church of St. Apostle Peter, which is located in Ternopil, the heart of the ethnic workshop “Koza Dereza”. The composition, 40 meters wide and 20 meters high, was included in the Ukrainian Book of Records and includes dozens of figurines of animals and biblical characters. The ancient tradition of the nativity scene dates back to the times when illiterate parishioners were told the biblical story of the birth of little Jesus in Bethlehem in church using sculptural compositions. Later, as cities grew and the number of townspeople increased, nativity scenes began to be installed in front of the cathedral. Even further, costumed performances were staged using bright costumes, iconic attributes, puppet theater, and songs-stories about the Wonder-Wonderful. We preserve this tradition, telling our children and grandchildren about the power of love and goodness that govern our world.