Nativity scene: the most Italian invention there is. You don't have to be devoted to San Francesco d'Assisi, nor Catholic practitioners to recognize that the crib is one of the most immediate symbols of Italian identity. Yes, it was "invented" in 1223 a Greccio by St. Francis, who recently returned from the Holy Land, and from Bethlehem, wanted to represent in a tangible way the Gospel narrative of the nativity. From there over the centuries this custom has gradually embraced the cities and towns of Italy, Europe and the whole world.
And there is no need to mention Naples to remember how this custom is diversified and has become part of many identities and has collected stories that flowed in the rivers of Italian and European history. And yes, the nativity scene is above all the symbol of one of the key passages of the Christian and particularly Catholic religion: the incarnation. The idea that is that that God who was in heaven became flesh and became a child born in a manger.
Revolution in the history of humanity
But coming out of the religious sphere, the crib is the symbol of what Italy has made what it is: the family. That ancient institution for which a man and a woman they abandon loneliness - dazzled or deluded by love - they start living together and building a project and end up being a lot of people.
A mother, a father, a newborn baby. In its essentiality, this image tells us why we exist and why we are what we are.
Without the family, Italy would not exist, its identity would be incomplete, its flavor would be radically different. This is why Italians should celebrate Christmas with great conviction and fill homes with nativity scenes: because even if they are not believers, they actually celebrate themselves and their truest heart.
Long live the family. Long live the crib. And Merry Christmas to all.
