Forgotten Christmas symbols: from an antique seashell to the Bethlehem cave (RUS), Narva Museum

Why is the cave so often shown in Christmas scenes? How did the symbols of birth come from a seashell and a pearl? And why did images known since antiquity acquire new meanings centuries later?

On the first Sunday of Advent we turn to old texts and look at artworks, mosaics and architecture from different periods. We follow the journey of these images from one culture to another and find out what meanings the artists of the past gave to details we know well.

The cave, the seashell and the pearl are the main characters of this meeting, but we also talk about other Christmas symbols that we often no longer notice today. This museum lecture helps you look at familiar stories with fresh eyes and see much more in them than meets the eye.

Lecturer: Yuliia Khlystun, PhD.

Duration: 75 minutes, including the lecture and a visit to the exhibition.

The lecture is given in Russian in the café room of the Narva Castle.

Price €7.

Time and place: 29 November 2026, 13:00, Narva Museum, Peetri plats 7, Narva.