Kevin+and+Girija

=Pictures = 

=Summary = The nativity shows the birth of Jesus Christ, and this picture of the nativity depicts what happened behind this event. The picture illustrates the Virgin Mary, Joseph, the Three Wise Men, the angels, and of course baby Jesus. The Virgin Mary stands over her son, with bowed hands, which the Three Wise Men also do as they are bestowing gifts to Jesus. The angels look down from heaven, to witness the birth of Jesus Christ and to watch him receive the three gifts from the Three Wise Men. The picture depicts the scene of the nativity, because it captures the simplicity-- birth in a manger with the animals, while it also portrays the grace and power of the event, with the angels serenely at the top of the painting witnessing the birth of Jesus, and the Wise Men and the Virgin Mary bowing to their messiah. The picture displays the scene of the nativity while also gracefully displaying the significance behind the story.

The nativity has a very important significance to Christianity: it is the birth of Jesus Christ. At the time of Jesus' birth, his parents Mary and Joseph are wandering in the desert and attempt to seek shelter in hotels but there is no space for them so they seek shelter in a barn for Mary to give birth. After Jesus' birth animals crowd around the manger, as well as the Three Wise Men who follow the Star of David to His birthplace. It is known that the Three Wise Men do not arrive to witness their messiah as soon as his birth, but rather when Joseph and Mary are able to receive their gifts. After the Three Wise Men arrive, they bestow the three significant gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, all representing the roles Jesus will have in his life. Gold represents office as king, Frankincense represents high divine nature and his role as most high priest, and myrrh represents his role as ultimate sacrifice for the wrongdoings of man. The nativity has a lot of significance because it tells of how the Christian messiah was born and it tells us about the three gifts he received and the significance of them in the future.

= **Research ** = **A. Bibliography: ** Sites:


 * 1) " What is the Nativity". WiseGeek. 2009. November 9, 2009.< []  >
 * 2) Callan, Terrance D. "Jesus Christ." //World Book Student. //  World Book, 2009. Web. 9 Nov. 2009.
 * 3) "What Do The Three Gifts Of The Magi Represent?". Blurt it. 2009. November 9, 2009. < <span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 22px;">[] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">>
 * 4) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">"The Nativity-Importance". All About Jesus Christ. 2009. November 9, 2009. <[] >

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Pictures: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">1. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Allan T Kohl. "Nativity Scene", 1261 to 1265 Online Image MICDS database, 09 November 2009 <[]>

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">2. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Corregio. "Nativity (Holy night)", 1528-30, Online image Lib art.com, 09 November 2009, []

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">3. Provided by Mister Murray for the project

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">To find our sources we searched terms and phrases that we thought related to the topic of Nativity. In addition to searching "Nativity", we searched terms as general as "Jesus" as well as more detailed, searching "Birth of Jesus Christ", "Significance of Nativity", "The Three GIfts", and "The Three Wise Men."
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">B **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">. Search Terms:

<span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 22px;">[]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">C. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;"> Notes:


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Joseph and his wife Mary could only find shelter in an animal barn before the birth of their son.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">After the birth of Jesus many eastern astrologers also known as wise men came to see baby Jesus.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">This scene became known as the nativity
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Birth of Jesus=Nativity
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Nativity is an essential part of the holiday Christmas
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">There is arguments on when Jesus came to earth, but it is assigned that Joseph and Mary received their visitors on December 25th
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">The Nativity is not the precise moment that Jesus was born, but rather the time when Joseph and Mary could formally receive visitors.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">In the nativity scene Jesus is in a manger surrounded by the domestic animals and Joseph and Mary on either side of him
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">The Wise Men come and give their gifts of frankincense, gold and myrrh.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Each gift sign

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">< <span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 22px;">[] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">>

<span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif; font-size: 110%;">[|http://www.worldbookonline.com/student/article?id=ar288000&gr=Welcome+Micds-Spencer+Library] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">(Early Life)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh represent roles of Jesus in his life
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Gold - role as king
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Frankincense - divine nature and role as high priest
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Myrrh - role as ultimate sacrifice for wrongdoings of man


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">The nativity is a term used to describe the birth of Jesus Christ
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Jesus was born during the time of Herod the Great
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">No one knows what time of year Jesus was born, but his birthday is celebrated on December 25th
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">His parents were the Virgin Mary and Joseph
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">He was born in Bethlehem in the territory of Judea
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">He was raised in Nazareth in the territory of Galilee
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Wise men came from the east to visit and give the three gifts to Jesus, and left another way as they were advised.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">They were advised to leave another way, because Herod had a decree that ordered all boys to be killed at the age of two, and Joseph upon hearing this in a vision from an angel fled with Mary and baby Jesus.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Jesus was born in a manger in a stable where Mary and Joseph found shelter
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Shepherds near Bethlehem saw angels in the sky over the stable where Jesus was born.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/the-nativity.htm


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Luke describes birth of Jesus in town of Bethlehem, circumstances of His birth in the stable, the appearance of the heavenly host and the shepherds all take center stage in great space of time that God created at precise moment
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Angel tells Mary she would bear the Christ child
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Three Wise Men journeyed to Jesus in the manger by the star of David

=<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Individual Paragraphs = //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Crucifixion, Nativity, and the Menorah by Kevin // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Each artifact and image enhances one’s understanding of religion. By looking at the picture of the nativity I think that something excited must be happening, there are three rich looking men bringing gifts to this baby. They seem to be looking at the boy like he has a role in their society. By looking at the picture of the crucifixion I think that something tragic has happened. There are people around the cross this man is nailed to and it seems like this religion is very violent. The crucifixion picture seems to be showing me that this man has died and he looks like he was suffering before he died. By looking at the picture of the Menorah I think that the artifact represents something that has to do with eight or nine. It seems like the candles need to be lit sometime. Artifacts and images enhance one’s understanding of religion. Some people look at images and artifacts look at them differently do to the fact that some people are of a faith that is being used for the project.

//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Cathedrals, Nativity, and the Menorah by Girija //

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 121%;">Religions can be studied in many different ways. It can be in readings, lectures, stories, experience, etc; and each style has a certain tool to unlock the learning process of the religion. Looking at art and architecture from a religion, enhances the understanding of it by bringing out the significance in the method of story-telling. When one observes and researches a piece of art, a story is almost always behind the creation of it. For example with the Menorah, there is the story of how God told the Jews to construct the Menorah and why, and also the story of the oil in the lamp which lasted for eight days. Similarly, with Cathedrals, there are the stories of famous rulers being crowned in Cathedrals, and using them to commemorate events and to show wealth. In addition to the Menorah and the Cathedrals, the Nativity itself is a story, that is the story of the birth of Jesus Christ, and the Three wise men. In all of these religions the stories represent a great part of how the religion functioned. With the Menorah, the story symbolizes the amount of faith in the Jewish religion, with the Cathedrals, how Christianity was peacefully supported and enforced by the government, and the Nativity, also showing the amount of faith and belief in Christianity. Using art, can help enhance one's view on a religion, because not only does it give the observer the story behind the creation, but it also gives the observer the significance of the story in the religion.

[|Christianity]