Thousands upon thousands of such scenes will be appearing around the world at this time of the year.
And the Pope now says, "Oi! That's bullshit!"
As churches and families around the world prepare to dust off their Nativity figures for the festive season, Benedict writes in a new book on Christ that contrary to popular belief, Jesus's birth was not presided over by oxen, asses, camels or indeed any other beasts.
"There is no mention of animals in the Gospels," he wrote in the third and last volume of his biography of Jesus Christ, which like the previous two books is expected to become an international best-seller, with an initial print run of a million copies.
The inclusion of domestic animals in the Nativity scene may have been inspired by pre-Christian traditions, for instance in the Book of Habakkuk, a part of the Hebrew Bible which was probably written by an early prophet in the seventh century BC, Benedict wrote.
But children around the world need not be too disappointed – the German pontiff said that the tradition of donkeys or oxen beside the manger was so deeply entrenched that it would doubtless survive his scepticism.
"No one will give up the oxen and the donkey in their Nativity scenes," he writes in the book, which goes on sale today/on Wednesday.
[source : Nativity donkeys and cattle are a myth, says Pope, The Daily Telegraph, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/the-pope/9691295/Nativity-donkeys-and-cattle-are-a-myth-says-Pope.html, 21st November 2012]
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