{"id":25911,"date":"2010-11-02T18:45:44","date_gmt":"2010-11-02T22:45:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/2010\/11\/the-creche-at-regina-laudis-th\/"},"modified":"2010-11-02T18:45:44","modified_gmt":"2010-11-02T22:45:44","slug":"the-creche-at-regina-laudis-th","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/2010\/11\/the-creche-at-regina-laudis-th\/","title":{"rendered":"The Crèche at Regina Laudis: The Timeless story of a birth in Bethlehem …"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\"crèche<\/a><\/p>\n

If the crèche at
\nthe Abbey of
\nRegina Laudis<\/span><\/a> strikes you as a little out place, there’s a good
\nreason. The austere Yankee barn that houses it is a world away from its previous
\nhome. Handcrafted by artisans in Naples, the intricate nativity scene<\/a> was
\npresented as a coronation gift to Victor Amadeus II, king of Sardina, in 1720.
\nIt remained among Italian nobility until it was purchased by Loretta Hines
\nHoward, an artist and collector, in 1949. She immediately donated it to what
\nwas then a fledgling Benedictine Abbey in, fittingly, Bethlehem, Connecticut
\n(although the nuns insist the name is a coincidence). <\/span><\/p>\n

The crèche takes a few
\nliberties with the traditional nativity story. Instead of a Judean village,
\nBethlehem appears here somewhere on the coast of Italy. The stable has been
\nreplaced by Corinthian columns, and the traditional kings and shepherds are
\njoined by a whole host of other characters, who have shed their New Testament
\nrobes for 18th<\/span><\/font>-century knickers and coats. In one corner, some
\npeasants argue over the contents of a stem pot. In another, a noblewoman walks
\nher whippet on a leash. The crowd is puzzling at first, though it may
\nserve  <\/span>a distinct purpose. “For as
\nmany people as there are, there are attitudes toward the birth of Christ,” says
\nSister Angèle Arbib, who helps care for the crèche. She points out some figures
\nwho seems reverential, others who seem distracted or dis-believing: “It’s so
\nrepresentative. When people come here to see the crèche, they identify with
\nsomeone in here.”<\/span><\/p>\n

And people of all faiths do come to see it. The mass of
\nChristmas pilgrims has returned after a recent restoration had taken the crèche
\nout of public view for three years. Conservators from New York’s Metropolitan
\nMuseum of Art painstakingly repaired each of the 68 figures and the tiny
\nhand-sewn outfits they wear. The results are stunning. The crèche now stands as
\na testament to the continued support of the community of nuns,
\npreservationists, and believers that has formed around it. It’s fitting. After
\nall, what is a nativity other than a story of people coming together?<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

Justin
\nShatwell<\/div>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

Yankee<\/i><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

November\/December, Vol. 74, No. 6.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/blockquote>\n

Abbey of Regina Laudis<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/blockquote>\n

273 Flanders Road<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/blockquote>\n

Bethlehem, CT<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>crèche is open to the public daily 10-4 through Jan. 5 (closed Jan. 6-Apr. 24)<\/span><\/p>\n

203.266.7727<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If the crèche at the Abbey of Regina Laudis strikes you as a little out place, there’s a good reason. The austere Yankee barn that houses it is a world away from its previous home. Handcrafted by artisans in Naples, the intricate nativity scene was presented as a coronation gift to Victor Amadeus II, king … Continue reading The Crèche at Regina Laudis: The Timeless story of a birth in Bethlehem …<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76,27],"tags":[32105,32089,2267,2164],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25911"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25911"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25911\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}