Beholding a new dawn : the night of the Neapolitan crib as a mystagogical paradigm for growth

Abstract

As Abner Cohen has claimed, “Symbols are objects, acts, relationships or linguistic formations that stand ambiguously for a multiplicity of meanings, evoke emotions, and impel men to action.” In contrast to signs, which do not agitate feelings as they unambiguously address the beholder to the specific reality they point toward, leaving no room for interpretation, symbols evoke personal ideological frameworks and worldviews, are carried by interpersonal relationships, and are integrated into one’s meaningful rituals of “life, death, illness, health, misery, happiness, fortune and misfortune.” In other words, symbols serve the purpose of directing one’s gaze toward transcendent meanings, ideologies, and spiritualities that are generally hidden behind evocative, sensible and perceptible images. The Neapolitan Crib (or presepe), shrouded in a richly symbolic history and termed the Gospel in dialect, is an illustrious example of such a symbol, and what follows is one attempt among many at interpreting its rich symbology. [excerpt]