On 25 December, billions of people around the world celebrate Christmas: an annual religious and cultural festival commemorating the birth of Jesus.
One of the questions that probably everyone has asked themselves at least once in their lives, especially as a child, is: where was Jesus born?
The birth of Jesus and the Nativity has been debated at length throughout history, especially trying to interpret the gospels of Matthew and Luke.
Where was Jesus born: history of the gospels
The account of Jesus’ birth is found in the gospels of Matthew and Luke.
In these two gospels there are common elements, such as the names of Joseph and Mary, the conception by the Holy Spirit by the virgin Mary, and the birth of Jesus. They differ, however, in several other elements, such as the later story of the arrival of the Magi and the journey to Egypt.
But where was Jesus born and what is the historical context, as told by the gospels, concerning the birth of the son of God?
Matthew merely narrates that he was born in Bethlehem at the time of Herod. From Luke’s account, on the other hand, many more details emerge. According to Luke, at the time Mary was pregnant, Caesar Augustus imposed a census of ‘all the earth’, requiring her to return to her place of origin. Together with Joseph, her husband and descendant of David’s family, Mary therefore left Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to travel to Judea.
Tired from the long journey, Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem that night. Finding no accommodation and given the imminence of childbirth, they could only find comfort in an old manger. There, where the cave where Mary and Joseph had found shelter once stood, now stands a basilica with a star inside that marks the exact spot of Jesus’ birth.
Basilica of the Nativity
Bethlehem is home to the Basilica of the Nativity, built around 330 on the very spot where, according to Christian tradition, Jesus was born.
In 2012, the basilica was included in the UNESCO World Heritage list.
The church, which is among the main destinations of pilgrimages to the Holy Land, has a small rectangular crypt inside, 12.3 metres long and 3.5 metres wide, in which these words are inscribed
“Hic de Virgine Maria Jesus Christus natus est”.
“Here of the Virgin Mary Jesus Christ was born”.
This is the place where, according to Christian tradition, the very manger in which, in swaddling clothes, Mary laid Jesus would be found: that exact spot, during the building of the basilica, was marked with a silver star.
This highly symbolic place, which has always been the destination of numerous pilgrimages, was the subject of a complex restoration project from 2013 to 2020.
In 2010, following an international call for tenders, it was entrusted to a multidisciplinary team coordinated by the Ferrara Research Consortium (University of Ferrara). Subsequently, in 2013, the work was entrusted to the Italian company Piacenti S.p.A., under the supervision of the University of Ferrara, thanks to the initiative of the Palestinian government, which had promoted the restoration work.
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The jewels of the nativity: the Ellius collection
Ellius has always loved the fascination and mystery of the birth of Jesus.
Drawing inspiration from the marvellous beauty of the silver star in the Bethlehem basilica, Ellius has created an entire, magnificent collection: the Nativity.
The Nativity jewellery, all have, as a common element, the reproduction of the star present in the crypt of Bethlehem.
That star, which marks the spot where Jesus was born, enriches all the handmade 925 silver jewellery. A collection, that of Ellius, that exalts life and rebirth, which are a hymn to love.
Handcrafted bracelets, rings, necklaces and earrings feature the highly symbolic element of the star in each creation.
The Star of the Nativity ring for men, for example, is a splendid tribute to the Bethlehem basilica: handcrafted by goldsmiths, it is made of hypoallergenic 925 silver and enriched with a black stone placed in the centre of the star.
A jewel rich in value and contemporary design.
You can discover the Ellius nativity collection in the store and choose a unique piece of jewellery that brings in the charm of the birth of Jesus.