Merry Christmas!

A Merry Christmas to loyal readers!

As I teenager I lived in Naples, Italy while my father was an Air Force media specialist working with NATO. What I remember most about Christmas in Italy is the nativity scenes, called 'presepio' in Naples.

The Nativity Scene was invented by Saint Francis of Assisi as he stuggled to find a way to deliver the message of the Christmas Story to the poor and uneducated. He used real animals and people and the story was a hit! So it is no surprise that all of Italy takes pride in local church and town crèches. But it is in Naples that nativity scenes reached their most elaborate display. I saw presepios with incredible detail and hundreds of figures - entire towns depicted with butchers, bakers, candlestick makers and more, with Jesus and Mary at the center.

Bottom Line

While Santa is fun, let's not forget the real reason for Christmas.