CHILDREN OF CLASS 4D E 4E READ AND TRANSLATED THE HISTORY OF THE «PRESEPE»

1. CHILDREN OF CLASS 4D E 4E READ AND TRANSLATED THE HISTORY OF THE «PRESEPE»

2. The tradition of the Presepe, or nativity scene, hasancientoriginsitderives from the cult of the Lares, widespreadbetween the Romans and the Etruscans. The Lares were the ancestors and wererepresented with small statues. On December 20 the statueswereplaced on a small altar where the family met to pray. The nativity sceneis a representation of the birth of Jesus. The nameoriginates from the Latin praesaepe, the manger or enclosurewheresheep and goatswerekept. The word iscomposed of prae = in front of and saepes= enclosure, or the placethathas an enclosure in front. Over time the namechanged to cripia, wholaterbecamekrippe in German, crib in English, krubba in Swedish and crèche in French. The modernnativity scene shows a reconstruction of the traditionalnativity of Jesus Christ during the Christmas season: all the characters and places of tradition are represnented, from the cave to the stars, from the Magi to the shepherds, the ox and the donkey, the lambs, and so on. The representation can be both living and iconographical.

3. The characters of the nativity scene: Holy Family:they are the maincharacters of the Nativity.The threemaincharacters are baby Jesus, laid in the manger on Christmas Eve. Next to himisMary, located in the hut (or cave) near the mangerthathouses the child and isusuallyrepresented with blue or sky-blue clothes. St. Josephisgenerallysimilar in clothing and appearance to the shepherds, islocatedat the side of Jesus and ischaracterized by a stick with a curvedhandle, hisclothes are eitheryellow or brown. Next to them the traditionalrepresentation of the scene includes a donkey and a ox, thatkeep the baby Jesuswarm with theirbreath. The Angels:theywarnworkers of the birth of Jesus. Usuallyonlyoneisshown in the nativity scene. The archangel Gabriel, one of the mostfamousangels, warned Mary thatshewouldhavegivenbirth to a child and wouldhavecalledhimJesus.

4. The Magi: Gaspar, Melchior and Balthasar are traditionally added the night before Epiphany. Melchior is represented as aged, with a long beard and carrying incense; he represents Asia. Gaspar, younger, carries the symbol of royalty, namely gold, and represents Europe. Balthazar is the magician of Africa, naturally dark in color, bearing myrrh, used for embalming and therefore remembering the future death of Christ. The shepherds: representing the poorest, they were the first to adhore the child and are therefore usually placed in front of the crib. The animals in the nativity scene appear numerous. In addition to the donkey and the ox there are sheep, usually placed near the shepherds, horses, cattle or other exotic animals like monkeys or camels. Often behind the sheperd it is possible to find artisans representing various professions like smiths or masons and singers playing bagpipes or whistles. This is the result of an ancient tradition from Naples, which started in the XVII century. It not only has a naturalistic meaning, representing scenes of the real life, but also an allegoric one. For the same reason specific objects are often used, like a bridge, well or fountain. Nowadays the tradition from Naples is to add to the holy scene the most famous characters from politics to sports and entertainment, keeping the link with real life.

5. AND THEN…THEY DREW THEIR NATIVITY SCENE ALICE - 4D ANTONIO - 4D

6. ALICE - 4E BEATRICE - 4E

7. FEDERICO - 4D AURORA - 4D

8. FABRIZIO - 4E FLAMINIA – 4E

9. FRANCESCA – 4D AURORA – 4D

10. GIACOMO – 4E LUCREZIA – 4E

11. 4D & 4ETEACHER: Patrizia Donati Work edited by Patrizia Donati