Bethlehem in Larino

Today we drove around a bit more with Zio Enzo and Zia Connie and ended off at Maria (their daughter) and Daniele’s house for lunch. Once again, we ate like royalty. Homemade lasagna was the main dish. Yum! Their son Gianvincenzo is 7 years old and the cutest thing. He really enjoyed playing with Dan even though they did not always understand each other. I attached a little video of Dan and Gianvincenzo playing together and Gianvicenzo trying to overcome the language barrier.(Again, sorry about the crooked filming. I still hadn't figured out that you can only record one way.) In the picture you can see they are playing swords. It was pretty cute and funny. Gianvincenzo had no mercy on Dan.
Later that evening we headed into Larino to do some sightseeing. Maria is quite the tour guide and all in English which was great for us. We visited several beautiful historical churches and a nativity contest. Nativity contests/exhibits are very popular in Italy during the Christmas season. We saw nativity scenes made from seashells, rocks, pasta, in wine bottles and shoe boxes as well as some with flowing water and moving parts. However the best nativity scene we saw was the live nativity scene in the streets of Larino. Hundreds of Larino citizens come together to set up Bethlehem in Larino. Dozens give up their cellars to be transformed into various mini scenes of what would have been going on in the time when Jesus was born. There were scenes of sheep sheering, cheese making, bread baking, Bible translating, Scripture memorizing, jewelry crafting, guards arming, baccala selling, market bartering, wood carving, belly dancing, basket weaving, wheat grinding, tax collecting, grape squishing, fire stoking, chestnut roasting, stew brewing and of course angels singing, Mary adoring, Joseph comforting, cows lowing, shepherds praising, kings giving…Jesus lying in a manger. Every scene was complete with real people, real animals, real food, real music, real smells and a real sense of cooperation, love and community. I have never experienced anything like it. It was truly amazing. A must see if you are ever in Italy at Christmas time.
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