The three panels depict a narrative in which Mary is visited by the archangel Gabriel; she gives birth in a stable, and she presents the infant at the temple. The left wing shows the Annunciation, the center depicts the Adoration of the Magi after Christ's birth, and the Presentation in the Temple appears on the right wing.
I was joking about it not actually being a nativity scene but that is my best guess at the logic behind the crucifix, biblical scenes were almost always updated in this way to some extent and often very conciously included Christian iconography of the day to reinforce that modernity
From the wiki:
I was joking about it not actually being a nativity scene but that is my best guess at the logic behind the crucifix, biblical scenes were almost always updated in this way to some extent and often very conciously included Christian iconography of the day to reinforce that modernity
Thanks, that makes sense