Darwin once said that all male quadrupeds possessed a sense of jealousy, and many were even equipped with specialized weapons to use against rivals.
Lion-claw bathtubs were not uncommon in aristocratic homes, but there were none in the Vatican Museum. Joseph stared at the lion-footed bathtub before him, somewhat unable to figure out where it had come from or why he was standing in front of it.
He blinked. When he focused again, the bathtub was no longer a bathtub, but something like a stone trough.
Christmas trees were a custom from north of the Alps, the central mountain range of Europe. They were evergreens that remained green even through the bitter winter. At first, Catholicism had always considered this a custom belonging solely to Protestantism, only accepting the tree as a symbol of Christmas after 1900. It was not until Pope John Paul II that a Christmas tree was placed beside the manger in St. Peter's Square at Christmas.
Protestant families decorated their living rooms with a tree, while Italian families celebrated Christmas with a different style of "PRESEPPE" in every household.
PRESEPPE came in all sizes, but the most important elements were the infant Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and Joseph. There were also usually straw, angels announcing the good news, oxen and donkeys, the three wise men from the East, and the Star of the East. Whatever the material, the manger was an indispensable part of the scene.
Stallions were not like stags, with sharp antlers for dueling during courtship, but they still fought with their hooves.
In many primitive tribes, people did not understand ownership, and therefore felt no jealousy.
Once people understood ownership, they developed possessiveness. Like Christmas presents placed in a manger, even brothers who got along well needed two gifts. If one had one