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Santons of Provence

(continued from Part 1)

A display of the nativity scene made up of santons (read more on crèche provençal) has been a tradition in the Provence region of southern France.  What makes it unique is that, in addition to usual central figures (the Christ child, his parents, three wise men and farm animals), they add all kinds of villagers and craftsmen dressed in the region’s traditional clothes and complete with their tools.  There are farmers, a baker, a miller, a fisherman, a tanner, a beggar, a gypsy woman, musicians, the elderly, the disabled, children… just to name a few.  To celebrate the birth of Christ, they all came… but to Bethlehem?

Provence must be about 2,000 miles away from Bethlehem.  But it doesn’t matter to the people in Provence.  They would gladly join in the festivity to share the joy no matter where they have to go.  As Frédéric Mistral, a famous poet and Nobel laureate from the region, said, "the setting for the nativity scene wouldn’t change whether Christ was born in Bethlehem or in Les Baux (a village in Provence) because all the characters in this theatrical scene are provencaux."

Santons are not symbols of mystery of Provence.  What this all means is that people in Provence believe the story of the birth of Christ is not something mysterious that happened somewhere far away.  By participating in the nativity scene, they remind us, too, that we can come to bring gifts to Jesus Christ; that we can believe this is our story in our culture and in our everyday life.  Merry Christmas to you all.

"Le Noël des Petits Santons"

Dans une boîte en carton / Sommeillent les petits santons; / Le bergèr, le rémouleur / Et l'Enfant Jésus rédempteur, / Le ravi qui sourit / Est toujours ravi, / Les moutons en cotton /
Sont serrés au fond. / Le soir alors / Paraît l'étoile d'or. / Et tous les petits santons / Quittent la boîte en carton / Naïvement, devotement / Ils vont à Dieu / Porter leurs voeux. / Et leur chant est touchant / Noël, Joyeux Noël, / Noël joyeux de la Provence.

(Translation: In a cardboard box / The little figurines are asleep; / The shepherd, the knife grinder, / And Baby Jesus the Redeemer, / The delighted one smiles / Always delighted, / The cotton sheep / Are crowded at the bottom. / Then on the eve / The gold star appears. / And all the little figurines / Leave the cardboard box; / Naively, devotedly, / They turn to God / Bringing their wishes. / And their singing is touching, / Noël, Merry Christmas, / Merry Christmas from Provence.)

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(Text partially excerpted and translated with permission from Through the Azure Sea and Sky of Provence: A Tribute to Her Joie de Vivre by Tamotsu Tanabe, the author; Illustration by Keiko Tanabe originally appeared in the book and is used by courtesy of the author)