black nativity angers italy's "white xmas" party

[Amby 490]

ROME (Reuters) - A nativity scene featuring a dark-skinned Jesus, Mary and Joseph that has gone on display in a Verona courthouse has created heated debate in a city with strong links to Italy's anti-immigration Northern League party.

The nativity's appearance coincides with the League's controversial operation "White Christmas," a two-month sweep ending on Christmas Day to ferret out foreigners without proper permits in Coccaglio, a small League-led town east of Milan.

The Christmas scene -- featuring a dark-skinned baby Jesus dressed in a red shirt and lying in a manger -- was the idea of Mario Giulio Schinaia, the chief Public Prosecutor in Verona.

"History teaches us that baby Jesus and his parents were very probably dark-skinned," Schinaia told Reuters. "This nativity belongs to a universal Christmas tradition that brings together the whole of Christianity in celebration."

The nativity has caused heated reactions in the rich northern town, where resentment toward foreigners has spread as the number of immigrants, particularly from north Africa and eastern Europe, continues to rise.

"It is a useless act of provocation, just like the suggestion not to have a nativity scene at all, in order not to offend Muslims," Northern League farm minister Luca Zaia told one paper, referring to proposals in recent years that town halls and stores should no longer sponsor Christmas scenes.

"Magistrates have other problems to deal with: I hope they spend as much time thinking about lawsuits and trials," he said.

The Northern League, an ally of conservative Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi with key cabinet posts including the interior ministry, has used its growing political clout to secure tough new laws including making illegal immigration a crime.

League proposals have ranged from separate buses and trains for immigrants to banning new mosques and forbidding the serving of Chinese food and kebabs in towns under its control.

Schinaia defended his black nativity scene, saying it was not intended to be polemical but to encourage debate.

"There shouldn't be a white or black Christmas, only a merry Christmas for everyone, of every skin color, ethnic background and nationality."

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BD3Y520091214

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

The people who are outraged by that ought to be ashamed of themselves. Naturally, like all bigots it goes right over their head.

[~PalmTreeGurl~ 154]

I have no objections to seeing olive colored nativity scenes... especially since its fair to say that that color would probably be more accurate to the real color and it should satisfy all of us this day in age.

[Jenn! 918]

I wonder if the "statuette" thrown at Mr. Berlusconi was one of the black baby Jesus.

[Peikko 1,575]

"It's a useless act of provocation" Northern League farm minister Luca Zaia told one paper

Quite.

[PlatyPius 5]

ROME (Reuters) - A nativity scene featuring a dark-skinned Jesus, Mary and Joseph that has gone on display in a Verona courthouse has created heated debate in a city with strong links to Italy's anti-immigration Northern League party.

The nativity's appearance coincides with the League's controversial operation "White Christmas," a two-month sweep ending on Christmas Day to ferret out foreigners without proper permits in Coccaglio, a small League-led town east of Milan.

The Christmas scene -- featuring a dark-skinned baby Jesus dressed in a red shirt and lying in a manger -- was the idea of Mario Giulio Schinaia, the chief Public Prosecutor in Verona.

"History teaches us that baby Jesus and his parents were very probably dark-skinned," Schinaia told Reuters. "This nativity belongs to a universal Christmas tradition that brings together the whole of Christianity in celebration."

The nativity has caused heated reactions in the rich northern town, where resentment toward foreigners has spread as the number of immigrants, particularly from north Africa and eastern Europe, continues to rise.

"It is a useless act of provocation, just like the suggestion not to have a nativity scene at all, in order not to offend Muslims," Northern League farm minister Luca Zaia told one paper, referring to proposals in recent years that town halls and stores should no longer sponsor Christmas scenes.

"Magistrates have other problems to deal with: I hope they spend as much time thinking about lawsuits and trials," he said.

The Northern League, an ally of conservative Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi with key cabinet posts including the interior ministry, has used its growing political clout to secure tough new laws including making illegal immigration a crime.

League proposals have ranged from separate buses and trains for immigrants to banning new mosques and forbidding the serving of Chinese food and kebabs in towns under its control.

Schinaia defended his black nativity scene, saying it was not intended to be polemical but to encourage debate.

"There shouldn't be a white or black Christmas, only a merry Christmas for everyone, of every skin color, ethnic background and nationality."

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BD3Y520091214

Yeshua, Mary, and Yosef WERE dark-skinned. What a bunch of morons.

However.... does anyone else find the bolded part amusing? ILLEGAL immigration WASN'T a crime before??? Interesting.

[christeen 966]

It always perplexed me when people fail to take into account that historically and geographically, Jesus, Mary and Joseph would have been dark skinned... Generally at the time of Jesus, there would not have been too many ivory skinned families living in the region, if they really did look as they are currently dipicted in the Christian Faith, then the family certainly would have stuck out like a sore thumb in that area of the world at that time in history... So from a factual and anthropological point of view, this darker/olive brown version of the family would be more accurate.

Just Sayin'

However, the Lega Nord does have a very strong following in that region and their general xenafobic views are popular "blame the immigrants" is much easier then to look in the mirror!!! They are threatened and especially so when they can easily now say that the immigrants are stealing Jesus

[SMOKE 1,426]

unrelated but made me laugh. when i was a kid we lived in Vincenza Italy, my father was in the air force. at the christmas party on the base they had a black santa claus (wasn't suppose to be, but santa was sick. so my dads friend sat in for him) to this day that pic still makes people laugh. me @ age 4 sitting on a black santa's lap.

Edited December 15, 2009 by SMOKE

[Scott & Lai 12]

Really annoys me when Jesus is used as an ethnic mascot.

[HAL 9000 96]

Really annoys me when Jesus is used as an ethnic mascot.

It annoys me more that so-called love-all Christians would have a fit over a dark-skinned and likely more melanin-accurate icon.

[The_Dude 1,142]

Wait wait wait a minute here. You mean to tell me that Jesus didn't have perfectly straight light brown hair, white skin and blue eyes?

[Peikko 1,575]

It annoys me that people think that 'politicizing religion' is something new...hello, read some history!

[chri'stina 190]

Really annoys me when Jesus is used as an ethnic mascot.

It annoys me more that so-called love-all Christians would have a fit over a dark-skinned and likely more melanin-accurate icon.

Keyword there is "so-called". Obviously for many around the world, religion is more about tradition than actually reading and following the beliefs of the religion. I think Scott has it right too, they want Jesus to be the light skinned mascot. And others want Jesus to be their own mascot in their skin tone. This is more an issue of nationality pride, tradition, and ignorance than anything to do with real beliefs of Christianity.

[chri'stina 190]

It annoys me that people think that 'politicizing religion' is something new...hello, read some history!

Who thinks it's new?

[Peikko 1,575]

It annoys me that people think that 'politicizing religion' is something new...hello, read some history!

Who thinks it's new?

You have to be very naive to believe that the 'traditional' western nativity scene wasn't manufactured for political reasons. Religion is inherently political (small p) and while a deviance from 'tradition' might indeed be deliberately provocative, the idea is surely to challenge conservative christians into questioning what they are really believing in. Is it the iconism or the underlying message? That's a good thing, not a bad one.