#nativity scenes

Richard Luscombe at The Guardian:

Satirical holiday displays mocking Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown, portraying the newborn Jesus and his parents, Mary and Joseph, as victims of heavy-handed tactics by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE), have appeared across the US. One striking retelling of the Christmas story, at Lake Street church in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, features baby Jesus lying in a manger in the snow – but wrapped in the kind of thin, foil blankets given out in emergencies and regularly as bedding to ICE detainees, and with his wrists zip-tied. The figure of Mary stands nearby just outside the church, wearing a gas mask, which anti-ICE protesters have been wearing to protect against teargas. She is flanked by figures of Roman soldiers, which the Bible depicts as having detained Jesus prior to his execution, but with those in the display now dressed in tactical vests labeled “ICE.”

At another location in Chicago, Urban Village church, the models of Jesus, Mary and Joseph are nowhere to be seen alongside the camels, donkeys, shepherds and wise men bearing gifts in the traditional nativity scene. Instead, there is a sign that reads: “Due to ICE activity in our community the Holy Family is in hiding.”

The displays are extensions of the prominent role taken in recent protests against the aggressive federal immigration enforcement by faith leaders, especially in Chicago and New York. Similar political statements are also being made at churches in other states. At St Susanna parish in Dedham, Massachusetts, the tiny figure of Christ was removed from its nativity scene. In its place is a hand-painted sign reading: “ICE was here.” The Catholic church stood defiant despite complaints from leadership of the local archdiocese and of ICE, local media reported. According to some people behind the displays, portraying the ancient story of Christ’s birth in a contemporary political frame helps bring attention to the Trump administration’s agenda. They say that the holy family’s status as refugees represents the real fears and experiences of families in their communities, including separation from loved ones and the deportation of working family members leading to a loss of income.

Santa visiting the Baby Jesus

Among the most interesting Neapolitan crib figures in the collection displayed at the National Museum of San Martino are those that were referred to in the 1960s as the “deformi” because they had physical differences and apparent mental problems. This group includes an old woman with a hunched back, a young man whose facial features suggest Down Syndrome, a woman with dwarfism, and a bow-legged man with prominent neck goiters. Following later restoration and reinterpretation, these figures were recognized as portrayals of conditions that were more common at that time in people who were accepted as part of every community. The sculptors were willing and eager to represent realistic faces and bodies in all their variety.  A few exceptions resulted from clumsy restorations that attached disproportionate parts from broken figures to others that had missing pieces.