 | Baby Jesus or The Christ Child
The Santo Niño, Christ Child, Baby Jesus, this image has many names as well as many representations. Perhaps, the image of a child is the best way to symbolize the innocence and vulnerability of Jesus. Because of this, it is very understandable that the first representations of Jesus as a baby where in paintings of the Virgin Mary with him in her arms. It didn't take long for the adorable child to take center stage in legends and art. After all Bartolome Estaban Murillo's "Buen Pastor" (Good Shepherd) might have not had the same fame if it portrayed a bearded middle aged man as the main character.
Perhaps the most famous Christ Child of all is the Santo Niño de Atocha. During the Moorish occupation of Spain many Catholics were taken as prisoners in an effort to break the faith and damage the morale of the nation. In the village of Atocha, near Madrid, prisoners were tortured and forced to live in deplorable conditions but their faith remained strong. When the Moors tried to starve their prisoners, legend has it that a young boy would sneak into the prison at night with food and water for the men inside. He would also talk, pray and console them and single handedly saved the entire male population of the town. After word got out and around to the guards, they appointed special watches to capture this boy but he was never found. He became the patron saint of prisoners and for similar accounts of the same boy helping people on the road also became patron of travelers. Devotion to this Saint grew strong and was eventually adopted in America. Today he is probably the most sought after saint for people in need as evidenced by the plethora of retablos dedicated to him that hang on catholic churches in Mexico.
Another famous "Niño" is the Santo Niño de Cebu, whose leg was amputated after he kept miraculously returning to his shrine in the Island of Cebu. Legend has it that he was being sent over and over to Manila (although some accounts tell it was Spain), sometimes in sealed boxes that would arrive empty. Finally the figure was left in it's favorite spot, it's leg reattached and the locals have now made it one of the most important attractions of the island.
Prague also has a legend similar to this one where a local Carmelite order church was given a small wax figure of the Santo Niño by Princess Polyxenia of Lobkowitz. In 1631 the Saxon army invaded Prague and the Carmelites had to leave for Munich. When they were allowed back in they found their church pretty much destroyed. The order tried to settle in again with great difficulties until the head priest remembered the Princess' saying they would never need anything as long as they honored the Holy Niño. After a diligent search he found the figure behind the rubbles where the altar used to be. Their luck changed immediately since the conflict ended shortly after. With times of peace, prosperity was trickling back into their city. When the priest found the hands of the Santo Niño he asked people to help with the restoration. It is said that the man who did later became very wealthy in a strike of good fortune. The Santo Niño de Praga became a fountain of luck and today it draws in thousands of visitors a month to a small church in the Czech capital.
But the most common representation of the Christ Child is simply the nativity scene. December brings with it the millions of representations of the birth of the Nazarene. Starting December many of us will set up our nativities with an empty cradle waiting for the 25th when we place the most celebrated Santo Niño in the center of the stable with the figures of Mary and Joseph at its sides. |