{"id":36718,"date":"2026-02-17T07:00:38","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T12:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/?p=36718"},"modified":"2026-02-18T07:48:05","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T12:48:05","slug":"christmas-stories-in-christian-apocrypha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-topics\/bible-interpretation\/christmas-stories-in-christian-apocrypha\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas Stories in Christian Apocrypha"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"naples-presepio-rome\"<\/a>

The presepio<\/em> (nativity scene) is a centuries-old craft and one of Naples\u2019s best-known traditions. This Neapolitan presepio<\/em> was displayed in Rome. Photo: Howard Hudson \/ Wikimedia Commons.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

One of the most familiar images of the Christmas season is the nativity<\/a> scene\u2014the well-known depiction of Jesus\u2019<\/a> birth\u2014displayed in an array of public and private settings, including churches, parks, store windows and on fireplace mantles. <\/p>\n

The scene, first assembled by St. Francis of Assisi in 1223, is iconographic, meaning its various elements are intended primarily to depict theological\u2014not historical, nor even literary\u2014truths. It harmonizes two very distinct stories: Luke\u2019s birth of Jesus in a stable, visited by shepherds, and attended by an angelic host and Matthew\u2019s Magi, who are led by a star to the home of Jesus\u2019 family sometime before Jesus\u2019 second birthday.<\/p>\n

To most people viewing the nativity scene<\/a>, it depicts the birth of Jesus<\/a> as it happened, with farm animals, shepherds, angels and Magi crowding the Bethlehem stable. But the combination is apocryphal, in the wide sense that the complete scene is not an accurate reflection of what the Biblical texts say about Jesus\u2019 birth and in the narrow sense that such harmonization of Matthew and Luke is a common feature of noncanonical Christian infancy gospels. <\/p>\n

Actually, these gospels not only combine the Biblical stories, they enhance them, with additional traditions about the birth of Jesus that circulated in antiquity. Of course most Christians throughout history were unaware of this distinction; before widespread literacy, Christians told the story of Jesus\u2019 birth without awareness of which elements were based on Scripture and which were not.<\/p>\n

Become a BAS All-Access Member\u00a0Now!<\/h3>\r\n

Read Biblical Archaeology Review<\/i> online, explore 50 years of BAR<\/b>, watch videos, attend talks, and more<\/p>\r\n\"access\"<\/a>

\n

The Christian Apocrypha<\/a> are rich with tales of the birth of Jesus. The earliest and most well-known of these are the stories found in the Protevangelium<\/em> (or \u201cProto-Gospel\u201d) of James<\/em>. Composed in the late second century, this text combines the infancy narratives of Matthew and Luke with other traditions, including stories of the Virgin Mary\u2019s own birth and upbringing. The Protevangelium<\/em> was exceptionally popular\u2014hundreds of manuscripts of the text exist today in a variety of languages, and it has profoundly influenced Christian liturgy and teachings about Mary. <\/p>\n

The Protevangelium<\/em> was transmitted in the West as part of the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew<\/em>, which added to it tales of the Holy Family\u2019s sojourn in Egypt and, in some manuscripts, stories of Jesus\u2019 childhood taken from the Infancy Gospel of Thomas<\/em><\/a>. Other Pseudo-Matthew<\/em> manuscripts incorporate a different telling of Jesus\u2019 birth from an otherwise lost gospel that scholars call the Book about the Birth of the Savior<\/em>. <\/p>\n

In the East, the Protevangelium<\/em> was translated into Syriac and expanded with a different set of stories set in Egypt to form the Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary<\/em>, which was later translated into Arabic as the Arabic Infancy Gospel<\/em>. Another Syriac reworking of the Protevangelium<\/em> lies behind the Armenian Infancy Gospel<\/em>. Christians in the East also expanded on Matthew\u2019s Magi traditions creating the Revelation of the Magi<\/em>, the Legend of Aphroditianus<\/em>, and On the Star<\/em> (erroneously attributed to Eusebius of Caesarea), each of which in their own way narrates how the Magi became aware that the star heralded the birth of a king.<\/p>\n

\n\n\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

FREE ebook: The First Christmas: The Story of Jesus\u2019 Birth in History and Tradition<\/strong>. Download now.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t