ROME – The traditional Vatican Christmas tree was recently raised in St Peter’s Square. The 25-meter fir that weighs 7,2 tons, chosen to decorate the church for the Eve Mass, was donated by the town of Waldmuenchen, in Germany.
“We are proud to be bringing a Christmas tree from the centre of Europe to the centre of Christianity in Rome” said the Bishop of Regensburg, Rudolf Voderholzer.
Next to the 45-year-old tree, there is the Nativity scene. This year, it comes from the archdiocese of Naples, a city famous for its creche displays. The scene, entitled Francis 1223 – Francis 2013, recalls the first nativity scene set up 790 years ago by Italy’s popular patron St. Francis of Assisi, whose name and humble lifestyle Argentine Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio assumed on being elected Pope on March 13.
The tree, a custom started in 1982 by Pope John Paul II, is selected from a different European country or region each year and illuminates the city with a festive holiday spirit.
The first tree was donated by Italy followed by Ukraine, Belgium, Austria, Croatia, Romania, the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia. Some trees were older than 100 years and more than 100 feet tall.
The Vatican Christmas tree has been chosen from a region in Germany three times since 1982 and most recently in the year 1998. This year, it was harvested on the German-Czech border in the woodlands of the Bavarian Forest and the Bohemian Forest, and brought to Regensburg, in Germany.
While the Christmas tree is on display for all the weeks leading up to Christmas, the nativity scene will be unveiled, for the first time, on the night of December 24.
This year, for the first time, it will be made by famous Neapolitan artisans, according to a long time tradition. The complex artistic and architectural scene is a gift of the famous Neapolitan nativity scene creators, Cantone and Costabile to Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, Archbishop of Naples, who along with the Campania Region has gifted it to Pope Francis this year.
“This Nativity scene consists of 16 life size figures with all the fundamental characters of the XVIII century Neapolitan manger. So we will have – as Antonio Cantone said – the Holy Mary, Saint Joseph, Jesus (il Bambinello as he is called in Naples), the three Kings and a corollary of characters. The scene recalls the birth of Jesus Child in the traditional landscape of Campania felix”.
The statues’ heads, hands and feet are made of colored terracotta, the eyes are crystals, while the bodies are made of iron and foam rubber. They are dressed with handmade suits inspired to the eighteenth-century Neapolitan tradition and enriched by traditional accessories.
The Nativity scene will have a rocky set of around 7 meters by 12 with a height of around 6 meters.
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