Meanwhile, last night Nancy and I flew back from Italy to Albania (that is Albanie on maps, or on Albanian maps Shqiperia). We had spent two delightful days in Bologna, a city well worth visiting when traveling in Italy. Then we had driven to Desenzano de Garda, on the shores of Lake Garda, one of the northern Italian lakes. I had cycled through this area several years ago, and wanted both to see it again myself and to have Nancy see it. Trips of return are fraught with potential for disappointment, as it may seem that the way it was, or imagined to be, had changed for the worse. Or the other person may not see the charm you brought them to experience for themselves. On this occasion neither happened, and the visit was wonderful.
On arrival we found that a Christmas bazaar was set up in the main square, and schools and scout troops and other locals had booths selling the kind of things you would find in a similar sale in America. The Christmas lights were up in the streets, Christmas trees decorated all around, and even a floating manger scene was anchored in the small marina that filled much of the city center. We noticed a poster advertising a Christmas concert by a local school, and after wandering a bit found it—in the Community Center. While all the music was in Italian (which is appropriate for a town in Italy), we could recognize some of it, appreciate the spirit of all of it, and even add our voices and our English to the closing song, as all were invited to join in singing Silent Night. It would have been sad to have gone a Christmas season without joining in a group singing Silent Night—but now I have.
As if this were not enough, the next morning after breakfast we took a stroll along the waterfront. We had not gone far before we stopped and spent the better part of the next hour watching one of the more curious activities I have seen. In the water were four divers, working with a metal frame which they had helped put in place. On land was a crowd of people and a truck with a crane which was off-loading a manger scene.
A fire boat was nearby periodically spraying water on the divers and playfully threatening the onlookers. It took some time to get the electrical connection to the manger properly functioning, during which time the divers dredged up an old chair, a large old pan, and other sundry sunken treasures. But the electricity was needed for both the lights in the manger scene and the movement of the shepherds, who were on an oval track set to perpetually circle around the baby Jesus. This was a
fascinating project to watch, involving divers and many others on land, but it became particularly intriguing as I watched Mary, Joseph, Jesus, sheep, shepherds, wise men, palm trees and rocks, being lowered into the water and then sinking under the water. Then, with the help of a local, I realized that it was destined to become something I had never heard of before, something that adds a dimension to my understanding of Jesus’ descent to earth—an underwater crèche. The star was partly above water, but the rest was completely submerged, attached to a frame beneath the water’s surface, as per design. Placed annually in the water by the diving association of the area it is a tradition that has to be unique.
My only regret is that we had to leave Desenzano soon after the scene’s installation, and that we never got to see it in action. But in my imagination I can see it at night, with the lights gleaming and the shepherds gliding silently through the dark waters until they come to the place where they face the Christ child. It makes me happy to see a community that gathers around such a tradition…and it makes me hope that just perhaps some evening someone may stop and look and see a strange sight, something glowing in the water, and as they recognize what rests there, it may cause them to ponder something from heaven itself…
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