Just an idea I had about a toy "nativity scene" from Germany.
A Playmobil (!) nativity scene, with the usual
ingredients: Baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph (depicted as an old man), the donkey, the
ox and the angel Gabriel. But who is the man at the left? He looks like a
tramp, rather than an adoring shepherd. And why has he switched positions with
Joseph in another picture of this product? I actually have a speculative theory
about this. *Both* guys are Joseph. Playmobil is a German product, and Germany
has two officially established churches: Catholic and Lutheran. Catholics claim
that Mary was ever-virgin, so she never had any children after Jesus (who was
supernaturally conceived). In some Catholic traditions, Joseph is depicted as
an old man, presumably incapable of having children. Protestants, by contrast,
claim that Joseph and Mary begat further children after the virgin birth of
Jesus (James, etc). Thus, a Protestant Joseph would have to be younger than a
Catholic Joseph. Playmobil offers two different versions of Joseph in order to
appeal to both Christian communities in Germany. Mystery solved! Or am I out on
a limb here...?
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