This Saturday Christmas officially began in the Vatican with the traditional ceremony of lighting the tree and the monumental nativity scene in Saint Peter's Square. A magical moment accompanied by the first carols that were heard this year in the city of the Pope. The person in charge of pressing the switch has been a child from the region where the fir tree comes from, Abruzzo. A moment later, the surprise was revealed and thousands of white and yellow lights “lit up” the Roman dusk.
The rain in Rome has prevented the ceremony from being held in the same square. The inauguration took place remotely, from the large audience hall, in the Paul VI Hall. There, too, this morning, Francisco greeted the authorities who gave them away, and visited the elegant nativity scene offered by Guatemala, which will decorate the great hall until January 8.
Francisco has come closer to contemplate the beautiful figures of the Holy Family and three angels, carved in wood and decorated in a colonial baroque style.
"In its authentic poverty, the nativity scene helps us to rediscover the true richness of Christmas, and to purify ourselves of so many aspects that contaminate the Christmas landscape", the Pope explained. “Simple and familiar, the nativity scene reminds of a Christmas different from the consumer and commercial one; and how good it is to appreciate the moments of silence and prayer in our days, often overwhelmed by the rush”, he added.
a local conflict
The Pope also thanked those who gave away the giant fir tree that will illuminate Christmas in the Vatican. The gift caused a local conflict, because in principle they were going to carry out to San Pedro a 200-year-old example that was in a protected area. To avoid controversy, the region opted for a gigantic specimen of 62 years and 26 meters high, grown in a nursery.
In addition to the miles of lights that illuminate it, it is adorned with gold, green and red stars made by patients at a psychiatric center and a nursing home.
"The tree, with its lights, reminds us of Jesus who comes to illuminate our darkness, our existence often enclosed in the shadow of sin, fear, pain", the Pope stressed. “Just like trees, people also need roots. Only the one that is rooted in good soil remains firm, grows, 'matures', resists the Venus that shakes it and becomes a point of reference for those who look at it. It is important to keep your roots, both in life and in faith”, he explained.
This year, the nativity scene in Saint Peter's Square comes from the Italian Alps. It is under the obelisk, it is made of cedar wood, carved by hand in Sutrio, in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region. The Vatican assures that to do so "no trees have been felled, since the wood comes from felling planned by gardeners who take care of public or private gardens, where cedars were planted more than a hundred years ago."
It is a very evocative scene, because in addition to shepherds and wise men, there is a carpenter, a weaver and a merchant who carries his products in a trunk. They have also prepared symbolic figures that approach the portal, like children, a family melted into a hug, or a man helping another to get up.
