Christmas Eve
At the first stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve legend has it that all animals are given the power of human speech for that one special night. So, in homes and stables, fields and forests, animals domestic and wild acknowledge the miracle of Christmas, along with the bees, who sing a hymn at midnight just as Christmas Day breaks.
The Adoration of the Christ-child by Mary and St Joseph from the Book of Hours of Simon de Varie
The origins of this folklore are lost but it is repeated to generations of wide-eyed children who try to stave off sleep so that they may hear the beasts speak.
Note the kneeling ass and ox
