The Night the Animals Talked

I first heard about the legend of the talking animals about 20 years ago and as an animal lover, thought it was a great story.  Over the years I’ve always tried to be in the right place at the right time -  at midnight on Christmas Eve - so that I could hear the animals talk. Something always happened that would keep me away and I’d miss the opportunity for that year. Maybe I didn’t want to be disappointed, maybe it wasn’t meant to be, but now as I think about the story, I know that our critters do talk to us every day! Merry Christmas and may your animals all have good things to say to you!

“The Night The Animals Talked”

In the frosty mountains and on the snowy fields of Norway, there was a legend that drew children to all kinds of stables and stalls throughout the country on each Christmas Eve at midnight. Why would they go to these places on Christmas Eve of all nights? They were hoping to “hear” a miracle. They had hope, or faith, that each one would be blessed to hear the animals talk. Now, whether the animals were miraculously endowed with the speech of humans or whether the humans miraculously understood the speech of animals was not clear. But, they believed they could definitely communicate with one another.

But why? Well, over 2,000 years ago, Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem. It was a working stable, filled with animals of all kinds. Into these humble surroundings, Jesus was placed in a manger. Encircled by the innocent creatures of God, the Savior of man came into the world.

Now, according to the legend at least, Christ’s birth occurred at exactly midnight. Inside the stable, the animals watched in wonder as the new-born babe was lovingly wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed in that manger. Then suddenly, God gave voice to the animals and they immediately began to praise God for the miracle they had just witnessed. The miracle that God’s only son was born in human form.

Shepherds, who had been keeping watch over their flock at night, were told by an angel of the miracle birth and hurried to the stable. But just before they entered to worship the baby, the animals were silenced and the voices of humans in praise took their place.

So, the stories were told and the legend of the talking animals grew.  To this day, the story continues to be told in many places in Scandinavia, and when midnight on Christmas Eve comes around, there are wide-eyed children who creep into stables in hope of hearing the animals once again praise God for the wondrous birth of His Son.

Legend retrieved from:  https://tarapollard.wordpress.com/2013/12/13/the-legend-of-the-talking-animals-2/

Other great Christmas animal stories:
Native people of the Americas tell of deer who kneel on Christmas night, looking to the sky as if praising the Great Spirit. Cribs handcrafted by tribes of the United States and Canada include the fox, buffalo, and the bear in their mangers.

On Christmas Eve in Britain, bees gather to hum hymns and oxen and cattle rise in their stalls or kneel in adoration of the new-born king.

Spiders provided the original version of tinsel by decorating trees with cobwebs. Legends credit Santa or angels or Jesus for turning the gray webs into gold and silver. To this day, it is said that every tree should have a spider ornament to acknowledge the happy spirit of the Christmas spider.

Santa provides for the animals as well as children according to European legend. He places grain all about for them on Christmas Eve. Polar bear cubs know that Santa only comes after they go to sleep. In his off time, Santa is known to play with the animals around his North Pole home as well as feed and care for them.

Tabby cats received the letter “M” for Madonna on their forehead as a reward for a tabby kitten comforting baby Jesus in the manger. 

Retrieved from: http://minnakrebs.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-legend-of-animals.html