Christ Child
Jesus as a child up to the age of 12
The Christ Child, also known as Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, Child Jesus, Divine Child, Divine Infant, and the Holy Child, refers to Jesus Christ during his early years. The term refers to a period of Jesus' life, described in the canonical Gospels, encompassing his nativity in Bethlehem, the visit of the Magi, and his presentation at the Temple in Jerusalem. It also includes his childhood, culminating in the event where his parents find him in the Temple at age 12, after which the Gospels remain silent about his life until his baptism.
Liturgical feasts
Liturgical feasts relating to Christ's infancy and childhood include:
The Feast of the Nativity of Jesus Christ (25 December)
The Feast of the Circumcision of Christ (1 January – Eastern Orthodox Church, Extraordinary form of the Roman Rite, Anglican calendars)
The Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus (3 January – Roman Rite; others – various)
The Feast of the Epiphany (6 January or 19 January in the Gregorian equivalent of the Julian calendar)
The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (2 February)
Depictions in art
From about the third or fourth century onwards, the child Jesus is frequently shown in paintings, and sculpture. Commonly these are nativity scenes showing the birth of Jesus, with his mother Mary, and her husband Joseph.
Depictions as a baby with the Virgin Mary, known as Madonna and Child, are iconographical types in Eastern and Western traditions. Other scenes from his time as a baby, of his circumcision, presentation at the temple, the adoration of the Magi, and the flight into Egypt, are common. Scenes showing his developing years are more rare but not unknown.
Saint Joseph, Anthony of Padua, and Saint Christopher are often depicted holding the Christ Child. The Christian mystics Ss.
The public source identifies “Christ Child” as jesus as a child up to the age of 12. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Christ, Child and Jesus.
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This entry incorporates text from “Christ Child” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.