“Sand Nativity” and Christmas
tree of St. Peter’s Square unveiled
The Nativity scene in sand and the Christmas tree in the
middle of St. Peter’s Square in Rome were inaugurated during a ceremony in the
evening of November 7.
By Robin Gomes
This year’s Sand Nativity scene and the Christmas tree of
Rome’s St. Peter’s Square was inaugurated Friday evening during an impressive
ceremony that included Christmas carols, folk dances and band music.
Hundreds of people, including Church dignitaries applauded
as curtains were pulled down revealing the 16-meter wide depiction of the birth
of Jesus made entirely of sand and dubbed the "Sand Nativity."
The bas-relief sand sculpture of the Nativity scene is a
gift of the Italian seaside resort town of Jesolo, north of Venice, and the
Patriarchate of Venice. Over 700 tons of sand from the beach of
Jesolo was compacted to create the 16-meter wide and 5-meter tall Nativity
sculpture covering 25 square meters.
The some 23-meter tall red fir Christmas tree next to
the crib, that was illuminated during the ceremony, is a gift of Italy’s
Friuli-Venezia Giulia region and the diocese of Concordia-Pordenone.
Among those present at the inauguration ceremony Cardinal
Giuseppe Bertello, president of the commission governing Vatican City State,
Archbishop Francesco Moraglia, Patriarch of Venice and Bishop Giuseppe
Pellegrini of Concordia-Pordenone.
The Nativity scene and the Christmas tree will remain on
display until the feast of the Baptism of Jesus, January 13, 2019, that marks
the end of the Christmas season.
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