The French Christmas home decor starts with the Creche (the Nativity scene) whereas in the States the central focus is the Christmas tree. In Provence the santons– the figurines that go into the Creche go beyond the usual line up of: Mary, baby Jesus, Joseph, the three kings—plus a donkey, an angel, a drummer boy, shepherds, sheep and a stable. Don't misunderstand me… they are very important, especially the three of them H.V.M. , J. , and J.C.
In France, or I should say in Provence the Creche is the entire
village: The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker, the gardener,
the town chickadee, the fisherman…. each and every person counts. There is even a bad guy (I didn't take a photo of him… do you know he carries a knife?) Seeing the entire village gather around the stable where Jesus was born, makes me feel normal, worthy enough to stand in the crowd and be counted. Does that make sense.
Collecting the clay santons at the brocante is one of my favorite
things to do this time of the year. Their hand painted clothing and expressions, their rough and tumble state, speaks of many happy Christmases. I am especially drawn to the older ones,
the ones that are slightly broken, chipped and look like they have been
around the block a few times. Personality… yes that is it, French
santons with personality are the ones I am drawn too.
I started unwrapping the little, clay,
santon characters. They looked happy to be moving about and had a hard
time standing still for me to take a picture of them.
Their battered, less-than-perfect bodies and faces are…loved. Perfection in being imperfect.
Long ago at a Christmas Mass a priest at the church I attended stood up to say the homily. Usually a homily is about twenty minutes or so long, and at Christmas it can go on for eternity… that is to say that the priest stood up to say the homily and he said this and only this, "If Christ can be born in a stable, then he can be born in our hearts." I took that to mean that love can be born and live in less than perfect conditions.
French santons tell me the same message. The best gift to give is ourselves with an open heart.
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