Things to Know About Nativity:

Things to Know About Nativity:

1- We say that Jesus is Begotten not created, because He is God Incarnate, who existed even before He became a Man as it is written in the Creed: “Begotten not Made”.

2 the Mother of God is the Ever Virgin: Mary conceived Jesus from the Holy Spirit. She never knew a man. She is Virgin before, during, and after she gave birth.

3- Joseph the Righteous: Joseph, the Betrothed to Mary, is not the father of Jesus in the flesh, because Jesus is the Son of the Living God.

4- According to tradition, Joseph the Betrothed is not depicted in the middle of the icon of Nativity, not because of his insignificance, God forbid, but to emphasize that the birth is divine by the Holy Spirit. The Orthodox Church celebrates his feast on the Sunday following Nativity.

5- The birth of the Lord Jesus Christ was not a surprise, but it was awaited, and it came to fulfill the prophecies of the Old Testament.
“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)

6- The meaning of the name of Jesus: the being who saves, that is, God who saves, and this is what we see written on the aura of Jesus in the icon: Ό ΏΝ that is, the being. Jesus said to the Jews: “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58).

7- Swaddling clothes: In the icon of Nativity Jesus is always wrapped in swaddling clothes, according to the Gospel of Luke: “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and she wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger” (Luke 2:7). We will see these swaddling clothes empty in the icon of the Empty Tomb, which is the icon for Resurrection.

8- Today is born from a Virgin: This hymn of Nativity is sung on the same tone as “Today was hung on the wood”, because the Lord who was born is the one who was crucified and Resurrected to redeem us and save us.

9- The Nativity events: The Nativity events are mentioned in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, and they complete each other.

10- The Divine Incarnation: The feast of Annunciation is the feast of the Divine Incarnation, as the divine nature is united with the human nature in the womb of Mary, while Nativity is the feast of God’s manifestation in the flesh.

11- Bethlehem: When the angel appeared to the Shepherds in Bethlehem and preached to them the divine birth, the age of animal sacrifices ended because Jesus himself became the Sacrifice for our salvation.

12 - The Magi: When the Magi came and worshipped Jesus, it was a sign of the coming of the nations, and the Prophet Daniel had preached ancient in their country. Their three gifts are: frankincense, a symbol of divinity, gold as a symbol of royalty, and myrrh a sign of the crucifixion