Rich Creche Tradition in Slovenia
The advent period is also associated with the placing of creches around houses, churches and sometimes even in public places. The first documented creche in Slovenia was created by the Jesuits in Ljubljana in 1644, although it was not preserved to this day. The Jesuit creche was obviously not the first artistic representation of a Christmas event in our region. The oldest scene of the birth of the Lord in Slovenia is recorded on a document dating back to 1242, in fact bearing the seal of the Benedictine monastery at Gornji Grad in Savinjska dolina, explains Janko Svetina, an expert on creche tradition and creche enthusiast.
Where was the creche traditionally placed?
In the nicest or best-lit space, regarded as the Lord's corner and it is the corner creche that is most characteristic of Slovenian tradition. In the ensuing periods, the creche was also popular on the chest of drawers in place of the statue of the Virgin Mary. The most common was the paper creche, bought or home-made, placed on a napkin. In Slovenia, quite a number of extraordinary paper creches have been preserved from the 19th century, representing expressive examples of the people's culture. Sculptures – mostly wooden or ceramic – mostly began to establish themselves in rural creches in the last 70 years.
Tell us something about the exhibition The Birth of the Family – an exhibition of European creches.
It is safe to say for the present period, that there is a genuine revival of the creche-making craft, as there are many craftsmen, there is a society, a magazine, a museum, there are exhibitions (at Christmas and also permanent ones), they are present in every church and in many households, but not in every household, such as perhaps half a century ago. The Slovenian creche is also on display in the church of St. Joseph in Ljubljana, where the exhibition "The Birth of the Family – an exhibition of European creches" is on display, presenting creches from 25 countries, members of the European Union, while there are also some Croatian examples on display as a symbolic welcoming gesture to our neighbour into the European Union. The display was designed in 2003, during the preparations for the accession of ten new members, and will travel around all the capital cities of the Member States, thus spreading the message of peace and coexisting in diversity.
Lately, there has been an increasing popularity for live creches, which are set up in natural surroundings with real actors, sheep and livestock. The most famous among them are traditionally on display in the Postojna cave.
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