The word was made flesh and dwells among us [John 1: 14] . The birth of Christ is a celebration of joy in that God became man. The dark mouth of the cave symbolizes the fallen world. Wrapped in swaddling clothes, the Christ Child shines forth as the Light of Wisdom. The child lying in the manger in the dark grotto foretells his future crucificxion and burial in a tomb in a similar dark grotto. The Virgin Mother is shown half-sitting, a posture which shows the absence of the usual suffering of childbirth. She is turned away from the child, meditating on that which will come. Joseph sits in thought. The midwiefe is ready to wash Jesus. All creation takes part in the virth of the Saviour: the ox, the donkey, the angels and the stars in heaven..