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This project is for making a rough looking cattle shed for a Christmas creche display to be used in your home or given as a gift. A few years ago there was a special catalog offer for simulated olive wood figures of Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus, an angel, and a few animals. The figures were about four to five inches high, and I made the dimensions of this cattle shed to fit them. If you were using larger figures, you could increase the scale of the cattle shed. It is assumed you either have suitable figures, will make your own figures, or will buy the figures you need. Here is a reasonably priced set of five inch figures that could work with this cattle shed in its present size. The figures shown are some my wife made in a ceramics class some years ago. They are about five inches high.
Materials needed--
-1 x 6 rough sawn cedar 6 feet in length (There will be some "waste" if you are making only one of these, but the "waste" can be utilized if you are making several.)
-Wood glue
-finish nails
-A 2 inch drywall screw
Tools needed--
-A square
-A rule
-A protractor
-A table saw or a radial arm saw
-A thin plywood blade for decorative effect
-"C" clamps
-A hammer
-A nail set for finish nails
-An electric hand drill and bits
-A countersink
-A screwdriver
Note: Legend in the Bethlehem area says Jesus was born in a cave that was used as a cattle stall. Using a cave to keep cattle was a common practice. According to books on the customs in biblical lands the Greek word in St. Luke's Gospel that means 'manger' implies a large room in which cattle were on the ground level. There would have been a raised platform about three or more feet above the ground level. The people would have used this for their living quarters. A feeding trough used as Jesus' crib would have been formed from a flat piece of stone placed at an angle against an outer wall. Mary and Joseph would have lodged with the owner family on the raised platform. There is no way for us to know the exact details of the place where Jesus was born, but there is also no harm in depicting it as a cattle stall like the one detailed in this Instructable.
And, you will have to decide how many figures to include in your display. It is quite likely the Wise Men (Magi) did not arrive on the night of Jesus' birth, but arrived some time later. St. Matthew mentions that Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus were in a house when the Magi found them. It appears they have had time to relocate to more suitable quarters, unless the house would have been the second possibility in the paragraph above (a large room shared by the people and their cattle). In The Bible as History, Werner Keller lays out a fascinating case for a convergence of Saturn and Jupiter as the Star of Bethlehem. St. Matthew notes that after the Magi talked with Herod, the star rose again. Keller lists three recorded appearances of a convergence of Saturn and Jupiter that appeared very near to one another in about the right years to coincide with the birth of Jesus. We will never know for certain, and others will disagree; but, these things could well indicate that the Magi did not arrive until some time later. In that case, you may not want to include Magi in the figures you use.
Materials needed--
-1 x 6 rough sawn cedar 6 feet in length (There will be some "waste" if you are making only one of these, but the "waste" can be utilized if you are making several.)
-Wood glue
-finish nails
-A 2 inch drywall screw
Tools needed--
-A square
-A rule
-A protractor
-A table saw or a radial arm saw
-A thin plywood blade for decorative effect
-"C" clamps
-A hammer
-A nail set for finish nails
-An electric hand drill and bits
-A countersink
-A screwdriver
Note: Legend in the Bethlehem area says Jesus was born in a cave that was used as a cattle stall. Using a cave to keep cattle was a common practice. According to books on the customs in biblical lands the Greek word in St. Luke's Gospel that means 'manger' implies a large room in which cattle were on the ground level. There would have been a raised platform about three or more feet above the ground level. The people would have used this for their living quarters. A feeding trough used as Jesus' crib would have been formed from a flat piece of stone placed at an angle against an outer wall. Mary and Joseph would have lodged with the owner family on the raised platform. There is no way for us to know the exact details of the place where Jesus was born, but there is also no harm in depicting it as a cattle stall like the one detailed in this Instructable.
And, you will have to decide how many figures to include in your display. It is quite likely the Wise Men (Magi) did not arrive on the night of Jesus' birth, but arrived some time later. St. Matthew mentions that Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus were in a house when the Magi found them. It appears they have had time to relocate to more suitable quarters, unless the house would have been the second possibility in the paragraph above (a large room shared by the people and their cattle). In The Bible as History, Werner Keller lays out a fascinating case for a convergence of Saturn and Jupiter as the Star of Bethlehem. St. Matthew notes that after the Magi talked with Herod, the star rose again. Keller lists three recorded appearances of a convergence of Saturn and Jupiter that appeared very near to one another in about the right years to coincide with the birth of Jesus. We will never know for certain, and others will disagree; but, these things could well indicate that the Magi did not arrive until some time later. In that case, you may not want to include Magi in the figures you use.
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Signing UpStep 1The base
The base is 3/4 inch rough sawn cedar. A piece 7 x 17 inches is needed. See the yellow text box for the location of a glue joint. I added a strip about 1 1/2 inches wide to the jointed edge of a piece of 1 x 6 (nominal--actual about 5 5/8 inches) of cedar. In this project the most visible edges of the cedar are left rough sawn for effect, even though some, by necessity will be smoother because they were sawn.
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Taking the opportunity I would love to wish you and your family Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
Love & Light
Stelios
Thanks Phil!