St. Peter's Square has been lit up by Nativity scenes featuring different styles and origins.
The norm was to stick with traditional Nativity figures. But in 2020, the Vatican made a surprising pick. It was a Nativity scene from the Abruzzo region. Among the statues was an astronaut, showing that God's message is everywhere. Although this Nativity scene was more modern, some visitors considered it “cold.”
-“It looks a bit...”
-“Cold.”
-“I would have preferred a more traditional Nativity scene. This one seems a bit cold. With the virus situation, where we can't hug each other, perhaps a traditional Nativity scene would have helped face this situation and have a better Christmas.”
The Nativity scene in 2019 was completely different. It was set in a typical 20th-century Italian Alpine town.
The characters' clothes were made by people from the same region. And the wood for the Nativity scene was salvaged from a climate catastrophe: the storm that shook northeastern Italy in 2018.
LORENZA ROPELATO
Scurelle City Hall (Italy)
“It has been an opportunity to reestablish the bonds between us. The act of contributing personal items to the Nativity scene has made us rediscover solidarity among us.”
One surprisingly beautiful Nativity scene was the one from 2017. It was from the Abbey of Montevergine, in southern Italy. The Jubilee of Mercy had ended, but the figures represented all the works of mercy, like visiting prisoners, caring for the sick and feeding the hungry.
The Nativity scene from 2013 was particularly striking. It was from Naples. Its statues were taken from a Nativity scene built by Fr. Vicente Pallotti in 1842.
In 2012 the Nativity scene was inspired by the city of Matera, in Italy. To the more than 100 figures was added Mary's visit to her cousin, St. Elizabeth. They also set the mule and the bull apart from the main scene.
Christmas in 2007 was special. The Nativity scene was set in the city of Nazareth, not Bethlehem, to emphasize St. Joseph's importance.
This year, for the first time, the Nativity scene comes from the Americas, from the Andes.
BSB
TR: CT
