Christmas is never complete in the Philippines without a display of the Nativity Scene or Belen at home. So the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (Rafi) launched the Belen sa Casa Gorordo last Dec. 15 to continue this long cherished tradition.
Displayed in the library on the second floor of the Casa Gorordo Museum, the Belen shows scenes from the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary and Bible verses centered on Christ’s birth.
Made of clay, plaster and ivory, some of the figurines in the Belen, Moreño said, date back to the 1800’s and were kept by four generations of the Gorordo family.
The conventional Belen depicts the birth of Jesus Christ in a manger, attended to by the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph, the angels, the shepherds and their flock of sheep, donkeys and cattle, and the Three Magi.
Families in the old Parian district used to display their Belen starting at Advent, which signals the start of the Christmas season and it shows how Filipinos value family. The Belen, which is open to the public until Jan. 15 next year, is one of the two exhibits launched by Rafi to celebrate the 28th anniversary of the Casa Gorordo Museum.
