From life-sized figures to intricate miniatures, Nativity scenes are popular around the world at Christmas time – but where does this tradition come from?

The custom of displaying a Nativity scene at Christmas began in 1223 when St Francis of Assisi is said to have staged the first recreation of the scene of Jesus' birth in the town of Greccio, Italy. This Nativity – known as a 'presepio' in Italian, after the Latin word for 'crib' – used living people and animals. Churches and homes across Europe soon began to stage their own versions with life-sized, moveable model figures or miniatures, in place of live participants.