Page 5 - Italiian American Herald - December 2021

FROM THE COVER
a well-respected elder of the Sanhedrin, appeared in a dream to a priest by the name of Luciano di Kefar-Gamba. Church tradition suggests that Gamaliele became a Christian and was baptized along with Nicodemus
by Peter and John. Some Christian scholars believed he continued in his role in the Sanhedrin to secretly assist fellow Christians. Santo Stefano and the disciple Nicodemus also appeared in the dream. The elder revealed that he and Stefano and Nicodemus were suffering greatly because they had been buried without honor. He indicated the location of their graves to the priest so their relics could be found.
Excavations began after approval of the bishop of the city and the remains of the saints and Nicodemus were located exactly where Gamaliele had described. Their relics were then dispersed throughout the Christian kingdom. A considerable number of miracles attributed to Santo Stefano made him one of the most loved martyrs in Christianity.
On Dec. 26, 1394, the Knights of St. John ordered the relics of St. Stephen removed from the repository in the Castle of Monopoli for protection from a Saracen attack and transferred for safekeeping to the town of Putignano in the region of Bari.
Celebrations vary from town to town,
some with processions and others with people visiting local hospitals to donate. Another popular tradition is to pay a visit
to living nativity scenes like the one in the Abruzzese mountain town of Fara San Martino. Here the locals gather in the main piazza for a re-enactment of the nativity. In Veneto, in the province of Padua, hundreds of participants re-enact a story from the Bible. In Vaccheria, a small town near Caserta, a living nativity scene is set up around the streets in honor of the 18th-century Neapolitan presepe vivente (crèche). In Sicily, a presepe vivente in Ispica Ragusa attracts thousands of visitors.
Italian families spend the day together on Santo Stefano with family and friends just as they do on Christmas day. The activities and traditions are comparable to the day before with traditional foods and Christmas sweets as well as the popular game of Tombola. In Italy, a tombola is a traditional board game, first played in the city of Naples in the 18th century like the game of bingo. Weather permitting, many Italians chose to visit and enjoy the attractions of nearby cities or to explore and relax in the beauty of the great outdoors. IAH
Wooden relief of Santo Stefano in the parish church of Santa Maria Assunta in Velturno, Italy.
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