Belen
Pope Francis must have noticed the creeping disappearance of the nativity scene, or what Filipinos call simply as belen, from Christmas preparations worldwide, whether in homes, commercial and institutional establishments, and public spaces. Even in churches, the setting up of nativity scenes has become almost perfunctory, with what belens there are tucked into places that are not very visible or accessible to people.
This prompted the Pope to issue an apostolic letter encouraging Christians worldwide to continue the "beautiful family tradition" of preparing the nativity scene, by which "we are invited to set out on a spiritual journey, drawn by the humility of the God who became man in order to encounter every man and woman. We come to realize that so great is His love for us that He became one of us, so that we in turn might become one with Him."
I remember that as a child growing up in the early 1960s in Mandaue City in Cebu, no Christmas would be complete without a family visit to the Pepsi Cola bottling plant in nearby Mabolo in Cebu City. There, on its sprawling front lawn, Pepsi would set up, year after year, a nativity scene with real moving figures cut out from plywood and set in motion by motors.
There would by Mother Mary and Saint Joseph and the Baby Jesus, all moving as best and as realistically possible as the available technology could offer at the time. There would be shepherds and animals, backed by recorded animal sounds and angelic hossanas from hidden speakers. There, too, were the Three Kings, mounted on motorized trolleys, approaching the belen in choreographed sequence.
We would stay rapt for hours, our childhood imaginations melting into and becoming one with the scene. Looking back at those wonderful Christmas moments of childhood, one can only regret that the technology of cellphones did not come earlier and there was nothing to capture those memories with for posterity. In the early 1960, almost no one had cameras and one had to go to a studio or hire a photographer to have any picture taken.
Now, with cellphones in almost every human hand, there is almost no nativity scene to take pictures of. The modern Christmas has become too human and so much less divine. There is more emphasis on Christmas tree and lights than the belen, on presents than the reason why they are given. Christmas vacations lose sight of the fact that the first Christmas was an escape.
Even stores very seldom have nativity scenes in their inventories. If at all they have, these are almost always made of cheap cut-out cardboard that look like they were made by Kindergarten kids, a shameful reflection of how low we have come to regard the nativity scene. In lieu of belens, stores are bursting at the seams with Christmas decor and Christmas lights.
The adults, who are usually in charge of Christmas preparations, seem to have forgotten that the nativity scene is not for them but for their children. The belen is a visual lesson about our relationship with God and where the process of our redemption first started. If we are to become good adult Christians, we have to first immerse ourselves in the nativity scene as children.
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