Editing Christmas (section)

=== Nativity play ===
{{Main|Nativity play}}
[[File:Giotto - Legend of St Francis - -13- - Institution of the Crib at Greccio.jpg|thumb|''St. Francis at [[Greccio]]'' by [[Giotto]], 1295]]
The tradition of the [[Nativity scene]] comes from Italy. One of the earliest representation in art of the nativity was found in the [[early Christian]] [[Roman catacomb]] of [[Catacombs of San Valentino|Saint Valentine]].<ref name="Osborne2020">{{cite book |last1=Osborne |first1=John |title=Rome in the Eighth Century: A History in Art |date=31 May 2020 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-1-108-87372-7 |page=31 |language=English}}</ref> It dates to about AD 380.<ref name="Tuleja1999">{{cite book |last1=Tuleja |first1=Thaddeus F. |title=Curious Customs: The Stories Behind More Than 300 Popular American Rituals |date=1999 |publisher=BBS Publishing Corporation |isbn=978-1-57866-070-4 |language=English |quote=Francis Weiser (1952) says that the first known depiction of the nativity scene, found in the catacombs of Rome, dates from AD 380.}}</ref>  Another, of similar date, is beneath the pulpit in [[Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio|Sant'Ambrogio, Milan]].

For the Christian celebration of Christmas, the viewing of the [[Nativity play]] is one of the oldest Christmastime traditions, with the first reenactment of the [[Nativity of Jesus]] taking place in A.D. 1223 in the Italian town of [[Greccio]].<ref name="Collins2010">{{cite book |last1=Collins |first1=Ace |title=Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas |date=2010 |publisher=Zondervan |isbn=9780310873884 |pages=139–141}}</ref> In that year, [[Francis of Assisi]] assembled a Nativity scene outside of his church in Italy and children sang Christmas carols celebrating the birth of Jesus.<ref name="Collins2010"/>

Each year, this grew larger, and people travelled from afar to see Francis' depiction of the Nativity of Jesus that came to feature drama and music.<ref name="Collins2010"/> Nativity plays eventually spread throughout all of Europe, where they remained popular. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day church services often came to feature Nativity plays, as did schools and theatres.<ref name="Collins2010"/> In France, Germany, Mexico, and Spain, Nativity plays are often reenacted outdoors in the streets.<ref name="Collins2010"/>