In 1219-1220 St Francis of Assisi, then about 40 years old (his exact date of birth is uncertain), visited the Holy Land – and was deeply moved in particular by a visit to Bethlehem.

A couple of years later, in 1223, he created the first “crib scene” – a Nativity tableau or, in Italian, presepio – outside the Church in Greccio, a village between Assisi and Rome. (It was pretty basic – a carved baby in a stone “manger” and two animals looking at him. No Mary, no Joseph, no angels, no shepherds, no kings.)

After this rather modest beginning, the idea caught on remarkably fast: such scenes spread across Europe and developed local traditions, including various churches that still have “live” (acted out crib scenes with real goats and sheep) events. (Like many other donkeys, my son’s pack donkey, who is called Martin, can usually get good easy work at Christmas time as on Palm Sunday!) Eight hundred years later, these crib scenes are still deeply attractive to a surprising number of people: in churches, in public places; and in private homes, setting up the crib is a part of Christmas, even in households that do not otherwise practise Christianity.