Have you ever wondered what happens to the image of the Baby Jesus when it is not in the Nativity scene displayed during the Christmas season. Probably not; you have much better things to do with your life. But I can, thanks to diligent research of my part, and I am gong to share a couple of examples today.
In the church of San Domenico in Naples a creche is set up in a grotto; it contains every figure of the Nativity scene except the bambino. On Christmas Eve a procession emerges from the church and a woman from the crowd places the missing baby in the hands of the Dominican priest who then places it in the crib. All then kneel and sing the old lullabye “Dormi, Benigne Jesu, in dulci somno”. After Christmas the bambino is kept by a family in the congregation.
A similar ceremony is held in New Mexico at the Jemez Indian pueblo (above). A pious couple is chosen as “padrino” or godparents to the baby Jesus. On Christmas Eve at 11:30 the padrinos and a procession go to church where the padre emerges with the statue and gives it to the madrina. They process home while guns fire in salute; at their home the baby is placed on a small altar. Candles are lit, prayers are said and the godmother then leads the procession to return the baby to the church, reciting the Hail Mary in the native dialect. The crowd enters the church at midnight for mass, after which the baby is venerated on the altar and then given to the seated madrina. All pass by her and kiss the “Bethlehem Babe” while hymns are sung. After the ceremony the baby is placed in its crib until the Three Kings Day.