In my youth in the ‘60s, dusting off the belen signaled Christmas time. My earliest memories are of a colorful cardboard cutout of the characters and scenes set up at the sala.

It is an essential Filipino Christmas décor and a real reminder of the true meaning of season. Adding local flair, the “ belen ” is done with the local materials for the stable with designs ...

Bishops might wish to survey how many families still display the belen (crèche). The results can be dispiriting. Or maybe they themselves pass over home “reenactments” of the Nativity.