When the last month of the year steals its way into our hearts, we find ourselves in a world of light, colours, dreams, hopes and Christmas… and nothing symbolises the Christ­mas spirit better than the Nativity scene captured in a traditional crib.

The celebration of Christmas is not complete without the crib; the representation of the happening in the cave at Bethlehem, described in the gospels of Matthew and Luke, when shepherds adored the new-­born babe as the King of Kings.

The Żejtun mechanical crib was the brainchild of Bishop Emmanuel Galea, Auxiliary Bishop of Malta and Vicar General.

The crib has, according to tradition, its origins in St Francis of Assisi’s wish to recreate the scenes of the Nativity in Bethlehem. In 1223, he returned from the Holy Land eager to recreate those events and scenes. However, he was aware of the Church’s prohibition of pictorial representations.

Convinced of the necessity to realise his mission, he asked Pope Onorius III (1216-1227) for approval to proceed with his plans. Permission granted, St Francis asked Giovanni Velita, lord of the castle of Greccio, to select a cave in his lands and to place in it a manger, hay, an ass and an ox.

Real characters such as shepherds, farmers, and noble people had a part to play in the Nativity setting, since he knew the Saviour was born for all. They all participated in the re-enactment that took place in Greccio, on Christmas night, 1223.

St Francis’s idea of bringing Bethlehem into one’s own town spread quickly all over the Christian world, and soon there were Christmas cribs in churches and homes, hospitals and schools, and other places to remember the Christmas event. Definitely, his dream to recreate the events of the Nativity, found its resonance in Mgr Emmanuel Galea, a bishop from Senglea, who, in 1945, felt inspired to build Malta’s first large mechanical crib in the convent of the nuns of Jesus of Nazareth in Żejtun.

Mgr Galea, then director of this institute and orphanage for bereaved children, went to seek refuge in the quaint town of Żejtun during the tough years of World War II. The horrible devastation that the war had left behind was, in fact, what enthused him to construct a sizeable crib. While Malta laid in ruins, his fervent desire was to create a religious symbol so as to rekindle the villagers’ faith and hope of a better life.

The presentation in the Temple of Jerusalem.

Due to the hardships suffered by the Maltese in the post-war years, it was rather problematic for one to attain materials and funds to accomplish the mammoth task. In fact, the crib was constructed with what was available at the time. Since paper offers the possibility of building a crib at very low expense but with a great deal of rewarding work, newspaper and glue were used.

The platform of the crib was constructed from several pieces of assorted wood such as random parts of broken doors and windows found on the streets. Indeed, the message of the crib could be transmitted using any material whatsoever.

The bishop entrusted the crib’s mechanical aspect to his nephew, Paul Pavia, who succeeded in a very clever way in operating all the figures of the crib, bringing them to ‘life’. Pavia toiled on the figures with great skill and dedication, ensuring that each figure performed the action required of it.

With just one motor, which he managed to find in a remote shop, attached to a multitude of nylon strings, the figures were made to function by means of different sizes of pulleys, cinema film reels and old bicycle chains, which were very common at the time. All the mechanism was strategically positioned underneath the crib and connected to the many figures, which were made from wood and iron wire.

Baby Jesus held in the hands of the Virgin Mary.

The costumes of the crib’s figurines were left in the hands of two nuns: Sister Paolina Gauci and Sister Angela Agius. Since Sister Paolina had worked for three years as a missionary in Persia (now Iran), she was the ideal person to know about the clothing customs of those areas. The figurines’ costumes were made out of several samples of fabric that a number of shops had contributed to the convent.

Finally, and with the help of several other villagers, Bishop Galea managed to see his aspiration fulfilled. The accomplished project was opened to the public for the first time during Christmas, 1947. Visitors came from all over Malta and Gozo, and there was such a big crowd that the police had to intervene to keep control of the situation.

Work on the crib continued for several years after its inauguration, until it took its present form. Throughout the years, Pavia continued to take care of the crib, making it accessible to the public every year. However, in 2008, due to his old age, he passed on the upkeep of the crib to the gifted hands of his nephew, Joseph Pavia. Since his childhood, Joseph had been taught by his uncle how to care for the crib. Indeed, his great dedication to it is no less than that of his uncle.

The project was opened in Christmas, 1947. Visitors came from all over, and there was such a big crowd the police had to intervene

In 2009, when Joseph checked the condition of the crib, it was immediately apparent that it required urgent attention. This led him to embark on a restoration task which included changing the crib’s roof, parts of its scenery and some of the figurines. He also does his utmost to preserve its original mechanism, which never fails to astonish people when they learn how and when it was made.

In addition, since locals and tourists visit the crib during the Christmas season, Joseph felt the need to modernise the room in which the crib is exhibited. Together with the work carried out on the room, he introduced a documentary that communicates the history of the crib in five languages. He is also planning to construct a permanent exhibition that will display parts of the crib’s old mechanism and figurines, which had to be removed due to damage.

A detail of the scene of the Annunciation.

Those who visit the crib will notice that three openings were cut in one of the walls of the room where the crib was to be exhibited. They were to represent: what happened before the birth of Jesus Christ, the birth itself and what occurred thereafter.

The scenes represent the five Joyful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. The site of Angel Gabriel announcing the birth of Jesus to the Virgin Mary is displayed in the forefront of the left window, whereas in the background, Our Lady is depicted meeting her cousin Elizabeth.

Through the main window in the centre, one can admire the graceful tableau of the birth of Jesus in a grotto at Bethlehem, while the three Wise Men and several shepherds adore the newly born divine child.

The third window opens upon the scene of the presentation of the child Jesus in the Temple at Jerusalem.

Finally, Joseph and Mary, holding her child in her arms, are shown fleeing to Egypt on a donkey.

The role of light is essential as it enlivens the crib by introducing the regular alteration between day and night. We can see people at work in the fields and around the village during the day, and one only needs to peep through a door or a window to observe these characters living inside the houses in the evening and at night. The angels, numerously present from the moment of the annunciation of the birth of Jesus to the shepherds, fill the nights with light and song, inviting each and every one to celebrate and rejoice.

Animals, symbols of the everyday life of the shepherds and the peasants; hens with chicks; donkeys carrying travellers; spinning mills and pulling carts; oxen yoked to the plough; goa­ts in the courts; these all define the people’s link with their environment.

The motor, pulleys, cinema film reels and old bicycle chains underneath the crib connected to the many figures.

Those visiting the crib will probably not notice anything wrong with it. Nonetheless, it is in danger. Unfortunately, woodworm is slowly eating through the crib and its figurines, adding to the damage caused by humidity and the passage of time in general. It would be very sad if such a treasure, which is part of Malta’s national historical and cultural heritage – since it is the oldest mechanised crib of its size – were to be lost to the ravages of time.

Although 70 years have passed from its first opening to the public, this modest crib still works with its original mechanism and still enchants everyone. It continues to attract the admiration of hundreds of visitors, schoolchildren as well as tourists who, year after year, return to learn from it and enjoy its beauty. Indeed, it continues to provide a sense of joy and hope to whoever visits it.

Remarkably, even this crib seems to bear the destiny to be associated with holiness as there is currently under way the process of the cause for the canonisation of its instigator, Mgr Galea. His zeal to transmit the teachings of the faith was evident not only in his sermons and talks to all classes of people, but also with this initiative.

Of all the media and the images that have informed and expressed the New Testa­ment message and its core elements, namely the universality of salvation, the crib has defi­nitely been the most widely accepted by different cultures. So one can understand why so many families keep on visiting this unique crib, helping their children visualise the story and culture of the Nativity scene together with the religious aspect of the story. For through its modesty, a crib reminds us that the spirit of Christmas is simple and that it is meant to reach out to our hearts and souls and bathe them in the joy of the birth of Jesus.

Acknowledgment

I am grateful to Joseph Pavia for providing all the necessary information and images.