278. ALTARS OF THE NATIVITY

ALTAR OF THE NATIVITY. Mabalacat Church. Photo by Dr. R. Feliciano

The whole Christendom celebrates the birth of Jesus with great joy and mirth, but nowhere is it celebrated with more pageantry than in the Philippines. Churches and communities prepare by staging the Nativity Scene before the altar, to be reflected on during the Simbang Gabi.

BACOLOR BELEN, dressed by the late Thom Joven.Photo: T. Joven

Some churches with side altars already containing belen images need only to clean and spruce up the figures. But those churches without lifesize images of San Jose, Sta. Maria and Nino Jesus, have to source them out from families, or make do with what they have--converting generic looking saints into the Holy Family.

A RECONSTITUTED BELEN, Staged using separate individual santos.
 Photo by Rainier Sexon

But that is not the only challenge; there is the stable that needs to be built,  plus the manger and all the "props" that would make the Nativity scene looks more authentic--animal figures, mostly sheep, goat, cattle.

SMALL ESCAYOLA CHURCH BELEN. Photo by Lulot Ruiz.

The Nativity scene takes inspiration from the accounts of the birth of Jesus in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. The narrative describes an angel announcing Jesus' birth to a group of shepherds who then went on to visit the humble site, where they found the Child Jesus in a manger. Matthew's story includes the presence of the 3 wise men who were guided by the star to the stable, hence, these characters are likewise included in the tableau. 

NATIVITY SCENE with the 3 Magis, Photo by Leo Cloma

St. Francis of Assisi is credited with making the first Nativity Scene in 1223 to shift emphasis to Christ rather than gift-giving. In the Philippines, those in charge of staging the Belen take great efforts to make the tableau truly artistic. All sorts of materials go into the making of the stable--cut bamboo, old house parts, sawali, palm leaves, outlumber posts, old capiz windows.

BARASOAIN CHURCH BELEN, Photo by Leo Cloma

The scenography is fashioned from crumple brown paper then painted to simulate stones and boulders, then further decorated with pieces of pottery, flowers and greeneries, The floor is strewn with hay and then the stable is anachronistically festooned with lanterns and Christmas lights

ESCAYOLA BELEN. Photo by Leo Cloma

Elaborate belens also include an animated Star of Bethlehem--a lit lantern that can swing into place through the use of pulleys--to the center of the tableau, which is the highlight of the Midnight Mass. After the Mass, the Baby Jesus is taken out of the manger for the traditional kissing of its feet or cheeks--the Pahalik.

BELEN IN AN ILOCOS CHURCH, Dressed in Filipiana. Photo: Leo Cloma

Distinctive nativity scenes and traditions have been created around the world, but they have not escaped controversy---mostly issues on propriety (characters are sometimes made to wear outlandish costumes), extravagance, and accuracy (like the presence of non-Biblical characters).

MABALACAT CHURCH BELEN, Photo by Leo Cloma

But whether we like it or not, the Belen is here to stay. Like the Christnas tree, parol, noche buena and aguinaldo, Christmas is not Christmas without the traditional nativity scene to inspire awe and devotion of Christ--not just during the holidays, but for the whole year through!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

205. THE BABE ‘N BELEN PROJECT

As a collector, I don’t only collect what I like. I also collect because I see possibilities in many things—whether they be tattered, old, or missing a piece. Therein lies my problem—in my house, I have many odds and ends in various stages of decay, but which I never throw away. My instinct often tells me that these once-loved objects can be a. restored b. salvaged c. re-loved d. adapted for re-use. Which often leads to challenging projects like this Belen project which took about half a year to complete.

 It started with an old wooden sleeping Niño that I found in a provincial antique shop. It was not exactly an impressive piece—it had been thrown in for a song, together with a large San Antonio I had purchased separately. Nothing remarkable about its carving . In fact, it even had a chipped foot.

But sleeping Niños are always hard to come by—be they expensive ivory or plain wood. So, I took it home, repaired its foot (using epoxy clay) and set it aside—in an old urna shared with its original occupant, a bigger sleeping Niño.

 So for months, there it lay—until one day, I saw an unusually small wooden structure in another antique shop I frequent. It was topped with a cross, so I assumed its an old altar, but it has such an intriguing design—there are no indications if the open parts were covered in glass, no doors, no hinges.

 It had a sort of a headboard with a circular flower cut-out, a motif I have seen on old bauls and comodas. The top also had a carved leaf-like appliqué which looked askew. Could this be a miniature toy furniture? Or a mini-urna?

 Anyway, I took it home and envisioned a wooden casing for my homeless wooden Niño. The first thing I did was to strip off the layers of greenish paint that have accumulated as a pasty muck on the wooden surfaces. I decided to remove the carved wooden trim too. 

 After I filled in some holes and other imperfections, I sent it to my frame-maker for a quick week-end paint job. Then, I had the 3 open sides outfitted with glass panes, using the same rubber glue for installing windows. The back, which had the “headboard”, was left open (I put a small curtain to cover it, instead.)

 As the “pediment” looked bare without the carved trimming, I checked my stock of “collectible junk” and found an old brass ribbon trim, that I neatly tacked on top. I used vintage lace to decorate the front and the sides of the altar, then sewed a velvet cushion pad and a pillow for the Niño.

 Maybe I’ll decorate it with some mother-of-pearl flowers when I find the time, but for now, I consider my Babe ‘n Belen Project completed---just in time for Chirstmas!!

39. "BELENS" OF OUR CHRISTMAS PAST

Crèches--or carved models of the Nativity--have been part of the Christmas tradition for nearly 1,000 years. They center around a figure of the Infant Jesus lying in a crib, generally with a small manger as a backdrop.

In the Philippines, the local 'belen' (from "Bethlehem") shows the child Jesus attended by small groups of figures--Mary and Joseph, the Three Kings bearing gifts, a few shepherds and their sheep. More elaborate versions may include a cow and a donkey, sheep, angels, cherubs, camels and ordinary villagers.


The height of the crèche-builder's art was reached in 18th century Naples, where puppet-like figures with beautiful terra-cotta or wood heads were created. They stood as high as 18 inches and were elaborately dressed, not unlike the rare ivory versions made here.


Peddlers and other travelers eventually carried the crèches throughout Europe, and has since become an international symbol of Christmas. Craftsmen in the Provence region of France to this day produce the traditional small earthenware figures known as "santons" (little saints, in the traditional dialect) that their ancestors began making early in the 19th century. Cast in century-old molds and painted by hand, the figures represent people of the area dressed in period costumes.


The more common Belen santo figures found here are carved in the folk tradition and are but a few inches tall. Getting a complete set is almost next to impossible as small figures tend to be lost. The set is oftentimes broken up too by antique dealers, who sell characters individually--like the Three Kings, or just the figures of Mary, Joseph and Jesus.

The most interesting figures are those that depict local provincial folks--women with pots on their heads, squatting vendors, and village people dressed in everyday camisa chino and baro't saya.

At one point, the Belen tableaux underwent simplification withe the reduction of characters--the solitary image of a sleeping Nino in ivory on a manger soon became a more popular Christmas fixture.


In many Philippine churches nationwide, it is customary to have a small altar devoted to the Nativity scene, which plays an important role every year during the annual rituals of the Christmas celebration.