By IANS
Kozhikode (Kerala) : Christmas is incomplete without cribs. This year, Kerala made an innovative statement with the holy crib.
Most of them were different from the run-of-the baby in the manger. They were full of little creative touches much to the delight of those who flocked to the cribs after the midnight mass.
“I was entrusted to make the crib by the parish council. We started preparing two weeks ago,” said Baby George, a parish council member at St Joseph’s Church, Devagiri, Kozhikode.
This elaborate crib, spread across nearly 600 square feet in front of the church, was not the usual stable and manger. It depicted biblical themes from Annunciation to the birth of Christ.
During Christmas, churches and most Christian homes in Kerala put up their own cribs depicting the birth of Christ. In churches, making cribs is an assiduous task, attended by all parish members.
“We used 50 banana stems to make the palace for the Magi and to design the location of Annunciation,” said Baby.
The stable and the palace have meandering miniature rivers flowing in between with bridges made of bamboo planks and waterfalls.
The meadows have been made with green sawdust and thin spread of soil on plastic sheets with paddy sprouts used for the grasslands.
The Holy Baby is placed in the crib on the eve of Christmas. Churches do it during the midnight mass.
At the Mother of Perpetual Help church, Chevayur, the crib has a unique element – rainfall.
“We have a motor behind the crib that will pump the water to create a drizzle in the background of manger,” said Fr.Jills, assistant vicar at the church.
One of the two mock hills that make the backdrop of the manger has sparse greenery, compared to the second one. “The ragi we sowed last week was eaten by ants… And we lost the green cover that side. But, mustard on the other hillock sprouted well…look it’s grown nice,” pointed out Fr. Jills.
But, not many in the laity are willing to sweat it out on a crib. Readymade cribs are available in the market, and shops dealing in cribs do brisk business.
“I stocked 48 prefabricated cribs, which can be dismantled. All of them were sold. Wooden cribs are priced Rs 250,” said Alex Jose, a trader at Kozhikode.
“This year clay models (that were placed in cribs) also were costly as they were short in supply. They are made in Madurai in Tamil Nadu. The rains affected production,” Alex said.