In this week’s issue of Crackers we have a very interesting article, sent by Heritage Malta about the origins and traditions connected with the nativity crib. Did you know that tradition has it that the first crib was created by St Francis of Assisi in 1223? During the Christmas holidays it is suggested that you visit the Inquisitor’s Palace in Birgu where you can admire an exhibition of more than 500 cribs collected by Albert and Lina McCarthy.
KRS Distributors Ltd are once again offering a number of complimentary tickets for you to watch the films featured in our pages. KRS has planned a wide choice of films for you to enjoy during the Christmas period.
A big thank you goes to Playmobil for supporting one of our competitions. Feedback was very encouraging and as usual it was very difficult to choose a winner. We are sure that Leanne Micallef will put the Nativity Crib in a prominent place in her room not only this Christmas, but also in the coming years.
Next week we will announce the winners of our Christmas Drawing competition. For all those who have not yet sent their contribution, you have until next Monday, to send in your entry in order to participate.
See you next Thursday
Francis
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IN OUR CINEMAS
‘THE GOLDEN COMPASS’
currently being shown
Action / Adventure / Drama / Family / Fantasy / Thriller
The Golden Compass is an exciting fantasy adventure, set in a parallel world where people’s souls manifest themselves as small animals, talking bears fight wars and children are mysteriously disappearing. At the centre of the story is a 12-year-old girl, Lyra, who sets out to find and rescue her best friend, Roger, and ends up on an extraordinary quest to save not only her own world, but ours as well.
‘BEE MOVIE’
from today, 13 December
Animation / Comedy
Bee Movie is a comedy that will change everything you think you know about bees. Having just graduated from college, a bee by the name of Barry B. Benson finds himself disillusioned with the prospect of having only one career choice - honey. As he ventures outside of the hive for the first time, he breaks one of the cardinal rules of the bee world and talks to a human, a New York City florist named Vanessa. He is shocked to discover that the humans have been stealing and eating the bees’ honey for centuries and ultimately realizes that his true calling in life is to set the world right by suing the human race for stealing their precious honey.
‘ENCHANTED’
from 19 December
Animation / Adventure / Comedy / Family / Fantasy / Musical / Romance
A classic Disney animated fairy tale meets with the modern, live-action romantic comedy in Walt Disney Picture’s Enchanted. Featuring an all-star cast, the film follows the beautiful princess Giselle as she is banished by an evil queen from her magical, musical animated land and finds herself in the gritty reality of the streets of modern-day Manhattan. Shocked by this strange new environment that doesn’t operate on a “happily ever after” basis, Giselle is now adrift in a chaotic world badly in need of enchantment. But when Giselle begins to fall in love with a charmingly flawed divorce lawyer who has come to her aid – even though she is already promised to a perfect fairy tale prince back home – she has to wonder: Can a storybook view of romance survive in the real world?
‘ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS’
from 19 December
Comedy / Family
Alvin and the Chipmunks, a global phenomenon to generations of fans, becomes a live action/DGI motion picture event with a contemporary comic sensibility. Songwriter Dave Seville transforms singing chipmunks Alvin, Simon and Theodore into pop sensations – while the out-of-control trio lays waste to Dave’s home, wreaks havoc with his career and turns Dave’s once-orderly life upside-down.
Films released by KRS Film Distributors Ltd
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Crib exhibition at the Inquisitor’s Palace
Tradition has it that the first crib was created by St Francis of Assisi in 1223; however, the practice of displaying nativity scenes in churches and houses dates to the 16th century. At the time, a German monk called Martin Luther disagreed with a number of Church practices and started a movement of reform known as Protestantism. The Protestants, for example, did not agree with the use of religious statues and images, while Catholics believed that statues were useful because they can help people to pray and feel closer to God. The Church therefore, started to look for ways to strengthen the Catholic faith, especially among lay people (people who are not priests, monks or nuns).
The Jesuits came up with the idea of encouraging the tradition of cribs in houses and churches to reinforce Catholic values.
As time went by, cribs became more popular in Europe and also in other continents. Countries developed their own interpretation of the nativity scene and different world cultures were being reflected in the way cribs were being produced. In Japan, for example, the Holy Family has oriental features and is wearing kimonos, while in Peru, the nativity takes place on a sacred hill known as Apu and the Virgin, St Joseph and Baby Jesus have darker skin and curly hair. In Malta, we place local characters in the Nativity story, such as ix-Xabbatur (the man shown climbing the rocks of the cave, making an extra effort to discover God), and id-Daqqaq taz-Zaqq (the bagpipe player). Moreover, our pasturi (figurines) wear traditional clothes, like it-terha (a sash wrapped around the waist to hold the trousers up), il-qorq (a type of sandal) and il-horga (a sack hung over the shoulders).
The first crib we know of in Malta belonged to the Convent of the Dominican Friars in Rabat and dates back to 1617.
Traditionally, the materials used for building a crib were gagazza (rubble wall stones) and kartapesta (papier mâché), while pasturi were made of local clay. The Maltese presepju is therefore very important because it helps us understand what life in Malta was like in the past, what clothes people used to wear and what trades they practised.
While the local presepju is still very popular, people are also becoming increasingly interested in collecting foreign cribs. For the past years, Albert and Lina McCarthy have been collecting miniature cribs from all over the world. As they travelled, Albert and Lina brought with them a miniature crib from every country they visited and now their collection amounts to more than 500 cribs. Some of these can be seen in an exhibition which is being held at the Inquisitor’s Palace in Birgu. This unique collection represents a good representation of miniature nativity scenes from the five continents. Opening hours: 9am – 5pm. Last admission at 4.30pm.
Article provided by Heritage Malta