Starting in November, people start getting ready for Christmas – spiritually and practically. Like in other countries, this means Christmas shopping, preparing edible treats, decorating. But in Italy, setting up the Christmas crib is always part of it. Of course, this is especially important in parish churches and in town squares, but in homes, particularly in the southern regions, the nativity scene is a seasonal ritual –even nowadays.
For many (or maybe we should say a great many) this means getting a ready-made nativity scene out of the storage room and placing it somewhere in the living room, often under the Christmas tree. By the way, being a Nordic tradition, the Christmas tree did not actually make its appearance in Italian homes –especially those in the South of Italy –until the second half of the 20th century! Before that, the “presepe” from the Latin word “praesaepe” meaning “manger” was the focus. No Santa, no wreaths, no snowman, no stockings on the fireplace. Just a nativity scene, generally in a place where it could be enjoyed by family and guests. In more traditional families, it is still put together anew every year –and this takes time. You need to create a scene using special brown paper that is shaped into a rocky landscape with tiny (fake) trees and more than one level. At the center there is either a grotto or stable with figures of the holy family, the ox, the donkey and some sheep, all huddled together. Of course, tiny lights illuminate the scene and the glow gives the whole room a magical atmosphere. The lights also decorate the other parts of the nativity scene where figurines made either of papier-mâché, clay or wood depicting simple people from everyday life are busy with their tasks –a housewife hanging the laundry, a greengrocer at his stall selling fruit and vegetables, a fishmonger putting fish on display and so on.
You can get what you need to make your own unique Nativity at a specialty store. They sell everything from the paper to shape into rocks and grottos to groups of houses made of painted cardboard to the figurines that come in various sizes from about an inch to about ten inches ( on special request) so that the proper perspective can be created. Animals, to, are part of the environment and you can find them in a range of sizes, not to speak of food items such as crates full of fruit , vegetables, fish and more. After all, the Nativity is supposed to look alive!
Some nativity scenes are pretty elaborate –they have fountains with real water, figures that take turns moving, with daytime and night-time alternating. The family members putting up the nativity scene take this job quite seriously and so they often end up arguing excitedly about how things should be arranged. They mean well, because the aim is to make a “presepe” that’s even nicer than the year before ! When you stand there, engrossed in this atmosphere, the Christmas spirit fills your heart !
But where does this tradition come from? It was the year 1223 in the small town of Greccio in the Lazio Region that St. Francis of Assisi asked one of his close friends to recreate the scene of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem where the holy family found shelter and had to make do with what was there when the Saviour was born –a manger with hay set between an ox and a donkey where to lay the newborn while Mary and Joseph watched over him adoringly. People from the area came to admire this first-ever wondrous nativity scene holding torches to light up the place.
When St. Francis saw the scene he rejoiced because it reminded him of Bethlehem. This depiction of utter simplicity inspires humility in the eyes of the beholder and spreads a feeling of tranquillity. Peace on Earth, goodwill to men. Just what St. Francis had in mind.
As we said before, the nativity scene is put up before Christmas Eve . Well, almost everything is in place, every little figure including Mary and Joseph –except for the baby Jesus. In fact, on Christmas Eve, families that keep age-old traditions alive often take the figure of the baby Jesus around the house, into all the rooms in something like a procession, singing the most traditional Italian Christmas carol “Tu scendi dalle stelle” (You descend from the stars). Once the round is completed, the baby Jesus is carefully laid into the manger and there is a moment of meditation.
After that, the Christmas cheer takes over and the rest of the evening is spent exchanging gifts, indulging in Christmas specialties and talking –often to catch up on what the people you haven’t seen for some time have been up to.
Sylvia Stastny-Terrone