Christmas traditions bring families together
Sissy and Guido Forte near a section of their Christmas village. Complementing the Christmas village is a wall mural of a countryside off the Mediterranean Sea painted on canvas by Mt. Lebanon artist Lynn Smith.
The village barber with his client getting shaved.
The presepe (nativity) in a stable made with cork harvested in Italy.
Tinsel, ribbons, lights, ornaments, Santa and that magical star. Excitement prevails every December as gift buying, decorating and meal planning seem to take over each day. The door gets a wreath, corners fill with glistening trees and, most important of all, the nativity or crèche, which is the real meaning of Christmas, is placed for all to see.
I have memories of my mother unpacking our miniature stable with a manager and the Child Jesus early in December and every year it was the last Christmas dressing to be put away.
Ethnic traditions or Old World customs filled most houses when I was a kid and today many young families are reaching back to their roots. Customs of generations past seem to be coming back to life.
A visit to the festive home of Sissy and Guido Forte in Bethel Park last week was delightful. Reaching wall to wall in their living room is an eye-catching Christmas village. A miniature train, hundreds of lights with moving characters and objects are reminders of their Italian heritage.
Sissy and Guido proudly pointed out each village scene reproduced as Italy was hundreds of years ago and as it is in many of the country’s small towns today. Handcrafted by artists in and around Naples, Italy, nearly all the scaled-down shops were purchased on the Via San Gregorio Armeno, Christmas Alley as it is known.
Following the street plan of the Greeks of the 5th century BC, the narrow alley, which is the heart and soul of the Neapolitan Christmas, is lined by tall palazzos that glow with twinkling lights and tiny workrooms where many artisans create their art.
The largest in their village is the presepe, a stable complete with manger and the Holy Family designed after the Bambino Gesu Church near Sissy’s hometown.
Although Sissy and Guido were both born and schooled in Italy, they didn’t meet until they were introduced while living in the South Hills. Every year or two, this husband and wife team return to their homeland to spend time with family and friends. Each visit has the couple shopping the famous street of nativity workshops and returning home with more reminders, both secular and religious, of early Italy to place in their annual Christmas display.
“Guido sets up the platform and guides the wires to all the different scenes. Each one has lights and moving parts,” said Sissy. “Then I take over. I need more than a day to set up the stage with all its Christmas memories,” added Sissy. “Once I start, I don’t stop until every figure is unpacked and placed the way I want it. Some years it takes a straight 24 hours.
“Twenty years have passed since I started building my village,” continued Sissy. “I want my family and friends who visit to know Old World Italy. I never want to forget where I came from.”
A copper worker and pizza shop started their miniature town. Sissy and Guido purchased a wishing well and chicken farmer during their visit earlier this year. Other scenes feature animated shopkeepers and innkeepers including a man roasting chestnuts, a bakery, cheese maker, even a wine maker, which is Sissy’s favorite. Most parts in each scene are made from Tuscan terracotta and with cork from the Sardinian forests.
Christmas is a magical time of year. Customs and cultures of centuries passed have symbolic meanings and are the basis of modern day traditions. They should be shared with our youth and friends, lest we forget.