Wooden Nativity Scene – Triptych (Large)

Full of sacredness and sincere hopes, Christmas symbolizes the purity and spirituality that the coming of Jesus Christ brings.
Many canonical and apocryphal texts about the birth of the Son of God have survived. Interpreting them, people for two millennia, each in their own way, have shown respect for Jesus – in prayer, songs, or ritual actions. Among them
is the tradition of setting up a 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 nativity scenes resemble a nativity scene box or a hut depicting the night when the Savior was born. In the territories of Ukraine, they began to be mass-produced in the 20th century from wood, clay, and paper. Currently, the largest nativity scene is installed in the Church of St. Peter the Apostle, which is located in Ternopil, the heart of the Koza Dereza ethno-workshop. The composition, 40 meters wide and 20 meters high, was included in the Book of Records of Ukraine 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 organized using bright costumes, iconic attributes, puppet theater, and songs-stories about the Miracle-Wonderful. We preserve this tradition, telling in fairy tales-legends and singing in carols to our children and grandchildren about the power of love and goodness that govern our world.