Q: When should the statue of the Christ child be placed in the Nativity scene? I noticed at the 5:00 PM Christmas vigil Mass on December 24th that the baby Jesus statue was not present. I assume that it was placed there at the Midnight Mass. Thank you.
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A: There is no rule on this. There are many customs about who places the statue and when it is done, but no rule.
In my view, the people coming to the 5 pm Christmas Eve Mass consider that their Christmas Mass, so it makes sense to have the child in the scene before that Mass begins.
