Mexico may have its troubles these days, but at least you don’t find proponents of political correctness waging the so-called War on Christmas here.
That’s evident by the ubiquitous appearance of nacimientos (nativity scenes) that pop up not only in church and home settings, but also in schools, government buildings, businesses and other public spaces.
Nacimientos have figured into Mexico’s holiday celebrations for nearly 500 years, tracing back to the arrival of Spanish missionaries, particularly friars of the Franciscan order. They brought with them the practice of mounting a live representation of the birth of Jesus on Christmas Eve – as originated by Saint Francis of Assisi in 1223 – and turned it into a palpable mode of evangelizing the pagan natives. To this day, nacimiento viviente pantomimes (see facing page) are commonly staged in churchyards across the nation.
In time, Mexican craftsmen started making figurines to compose El Belén (the Bethlehem scene), fashioning objects from myriad materials: wood, wax, ceramic, plaster, stone, straw, corn husks, tin and other metals.
The nacimiento was thus adopted as the principal holiday adornment in nearly every household and public venue. Its status has not been diminished even as modern marketing schemes have succeeded in tempting Mexican consumers to deck the halls with Christmas trees, Santas, reindeer, snowmen and strings of glittery electric lights.
El Misterio & company
The focal point of every nacimiento is a cave or rustic stable, where Mary and Joseph huddle over the manger bed of the Baby Jesus. The three central figures comprise what is referred to as El Santo Misterio (the Holy Mystery). Other standard elements include an angel, the ox and the ass kneeling beside the cradle, shepherds and their flocks, and Los Reyes Magos (the Magi).
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