presepio |
Today was a time to decompress after so much hustle and bustle
leading up to Christmas Day. Everything I Need to Know About Christmas I
Learned From a Little Golden Book, ends
with the reminder that Christmas is the
time “when joy came. One night in a
manger, under a star, a night witnessed
by both shepherds and kings, when gifts were given to a waiting word…the gift
of love.” It was great to reflect on this at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History where the museum’s
Hall of Architecture was transformed into
a winter wonderland with huge decorated trees and a 18th Century Nativity.
Hall of Architecture Carnegie Museum |
Reflection
It was far from a winter wonderland in Pittsburgh this year with almost 60 degree temperatures and rain. At the
Carnegie Museum’s Hall of Architecture the
trees tower among Roman, Greek and
Italian sculptures. It felt like a
winter wonderland with a snowman tree, a beautiful blue snowflake tree and one with a Frozen movie theme.
The Nativity or presepio
was handcrafted between 1700 and 1830 and represents an 18- century Italian
village . There are more than 100 figures which cover 250 square feet. The
figures that are beautifully detailed reminded me of the life sized wooden statues in Day 35 St Anthony Chapel .
This was a great way to relax walking among the art and trees and to have a
visual of the Christmas story. I say give it a try or find another decorated place like this to keep your Christmas going a little longer this season!
Spiritual Reflection
“Look! The virgin will conceive a
child!
She will give birth to a son,
and he will be called Emmanuel
(meaning, God is with us)”
Matthew 1:23
Other Sources
Carnegie Museums http://www.carnegiemuseums.org/