Cave stable, manger, straw, donkey, ox and shepherds. Mária, József and the Little One. Angels and the comet star. Three kings and many other props, reminiscent of the first scene in Bethlehem based on the words of the Holy Scriptures.
In the month of December, nativity scenes are erected in villages and towns, in churches and squares, but also in public buildings, which symbolizes the events of the past and helps to experience the mystery of Christmas, so that Jesus, who came among us in the form of a child, finds a place in people's hearts.
Nativity plays also enrich the Christmas programs. The setting up of the Nativity scene and nativity scenes have become a tradition over the past centuries. The old Nativity scene also plays an important role in reminiscing about our ancestors, when as children they went from house to house and performed and sang the two-thousand-year-old story, hiding in the form of one of the characters. Even today, the living nativity scene is often performed in schools and communities.
The origin of the story goes back nearly eight hundred years. What happened on Christmas Day 1223, in an Italian town called Greccio? "To raise the light of the holiday, Saint Francis of Assisi asked a friend to reenact the events of the holy night. They furnished a cave, made a manger lined with straw, brought an ox and a donkey and asked some shepherds to participate in the occasional play. Saint Francis' goal was that the decorated stable in Bethlehem would help people to better experience the real events of Christmas. The nativity scene was so successful that, according to legend, a pilgrim from far away noticed after St. Francis' speech that the baby in the manger came to life and that Jesus was indeed present among the celebrating crowd. The nativity scene has since become a tradition, and every Christmas it helps to prepare a place in our souls for the unborn child of God," reads the chronicle of the Franciscan order, which further weaves the legend:
Saint Francis discovered the true face of the nativity story for us. Even today, the nativity scenes set up on Christmas Eve in Franciscan churches are particularly beautiful. Outstanding among them is the nativity scene of the Franciscan church in Pécs, whose dozens of life-size figures were carved by Franciscan monks more than a hundred years ago.
If we stop in front of a nativity scene, it is worth thinking about whether we have completed the preparations for the holiday well. I wonder what role we play in the nativity story, who could we be among the characters in Bethlehem? Perhaps it is enough to just pay attention to the cave stable, which received the light of the world in the image of the Little One, and we can ask the question, has the Little One found a place in our hearts? Taking into account the characters of the symbol of Bethlehem, feeling the importance of their mission and the sacred message, everyone can find their role, which helped to create order in our lives during the Advent season.
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It's a pity that today the sleighs rarely race with horses with bells and the Nativity youngsters don't come to sing in their sheepskin coats either. To come into the heat to praise Jesus, although thank God you still see them occasionally in some places, especially in Transylvania.
Even in my childhood, they only went under the windows of relatives and neighbors. They received cake and prunes from the family. Today, unfortunately, children and adults are immersed in the world of gadgets, and Christmas carols also come from there. That heart-warming, often crying-joking community life and the habit of chanting seem to be a thing of the past. Today, we would watch with aloofness and mistrust if sweet songs were heard somewhere under the gates. But maybe not! Perhaps the Christian communities, kindergartens and schools are still thinking about this, as we can see in the picture.
Chanting children in a newsroom/Source: szatmar.ro
Of course, in this period of climate change, we rarely see Christmas snow, horses and sleighs, but even today the bell that initiates us into the mystery of Jesus' birth is heard in our hearts. The manger gathers the small and the big, relatives and strangers, kings and beggars, animals and people, clouds and stars - in other words, God's creatures - so that we can feel the power of love in his great community.
As my five-year-old grandson Szabolcs used to say: Jesus is the spirit of love!
Finally, let us have a nice chant about Kelenye:
When I was a little kid,
I was looking for sheep,
I found a red apple,
I meant it for God,
God's blessing
fall on this house Praise be to Jesus Christ!
Source: Felvidek.ma
Featured image: pecs.ma
