The Nativity is depicted in this detail view from the "Adoration of the Magi" by Italian artist Gentile da Fabriano. The work is housed at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. The Christmas season begins with the Dec. 24 evening vigil commemorating the birth of Christ and ends with the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Jan. 10, 2010. (CNS photo/Nicolo Orsi Battaglini, Art Resource)