"The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master´s crib; but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider."

(Isaiah 1:3, King James)

Cattle and donkeys (I really prefer donkey to the term of ass), as we read above, were there, perhaps sheep and goats. Camels? Maybe belonging to the three wise men? Were they there, or were they mere symbolic figures? We don´t know for sure. What kind of cattle roamed the fields and landscapes of Galilee and Judea? How simple and modest was the birth of Jesus really? Was he placed in a manger by Mary? Were the animals, which normally fed from the manger, close-by? Were they confused to see an infant instead of hay, or whatever else they got? Where did the shepherds live? What animals were they herding? What did they say to the fact of manger-occupation? A lot of questions. Time travel would be a really good feat for this moment in biblical and animal history. Whoever invents this contraption in my lifetime should know that I want to be the first to use it.

For the time being I´d like to introduce some animals that I imagine would have fit well into the Nativity scene.

The Mangalitsa is a wool-pig and has a fleece-like hairy cover to keep it warm during cold season.

Would it have been a cool night during Nativity? These creatures would have been picturesque.

The one below even had the decency to sit straight and pose for me.

Well, some kind of ox may have been present as we read Isaiah. The Northern European cattle as

well as the European bison seem to have the necessary stoicism and relax mode needed for

world changing historic events.

What´s that in the background? A white deer of some kind? I have no clue,

but it fits to be included into the ensemble.

Perhaps we can definitely exclude a male deer.

Too jumpy and too shy for the scene of

worshipping a baby.

Przewalski´s horse, the only true wild horse as it was never domesticated, roamed the steppes of Central Asia 2,000 years ago, but never made it to the Mediterranean region. Because of its sturdiness and good natured temper, it could easily replace, or at least sit next to the donkey. Przewalski´s are one of my personal favorites of evolutionary results, so I would really like to imagine this one in the barn.

Here we go: A simple shelter with a centered manger and many animals. But this is nowhere near Bethlehem.

All pictures were shot in the wonderful Uckermark region.