Italian Christmas Traditions: the Presepe

The traditional main characters of a nativity are: baby Jesus, a blue clad Mary, saint Joseph, a gray donkey, a brown ox, the tree kings (often accompanied by a camel) and the shepherds with sheep.

Jesus appears in the scene only after the midnight of Christmas Eve and the three Kings are moved slowly through the presepe to arrive in front of baby Jesus on the morning of the Epiphany, the 6th of January.

To liven up the scene often are added artisans and people going about their daily tasks in a landscape with palm trees, rivers and hills.

My children used to add their favorite dinosaurs to the presepe but this is considered going a little too far even by the standards of the most open minded presepe builders.

The origin of these Italian Christmas traditions, goes back to 1223 and Saint Francis of Assisi.

San Francesco, coming back from Palestine, staged in the village of Greccio (Rieti), with the help of the local people, a nativity scene to recreate the mystical atmosphere of Bethlehem.

In time the characters and the tradition of the presepe became part of Italian people culture.

During Christmas time, after the first presepe di Greccio, every home has a small presepe made with the traditional terra-cotta figurines and the traditional landscape with palm trees, mountains and streams.



Many cities and villages organize living enactment of the nativity, including as many people and animals as possible.

The preparation of these events often start well before Christmas and involves an impressive amount of people.

Loreto, a small town in Le Marche region is home to one of the most visited catholic shrines, the Basilica della Santa Casa (Sanctuary of the Holy House).

Every Christmas this city hosts a national contest for the best presepe and adds to its charms an impressive collection of Nativity scenes, scattered all over the center of the city in churches and museums.

In Loreto the tradition is well alive and cherished by the Associazione Lauretana Presepi that looks after the staging of the scenes and the national Nativity contest.

The tour of the Nativity scenes of Loreto is one of the things to do in Italy at Christmas time.

The scenes are very detailed and enjoyable. In our world of 3D animation, technology and special effects, these naïve nativity scenes still preserve their charm.

A visit to Loreto will bring back childhood memories for the parents and provide magic moments for the kids.


WHERE TO STAY IN LORETO

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