UST's `Misteryo' exhibit celebrates the spirit of Christmas

Just as the Star of Bethlehem led the Wise Men of the East to the birthplace of Jesus, a local exhibit aims to bring Filipinos back to the origin of Christmas.  

61 scenes of the Nativity are displayed at the University of Santo Tomas’ Miguel de Benavides library as the Catholic university aims to remind its students and community about the true meaning of Christmas: the story of God’s humanity through Jesus.  

“The Belen represents, better and more fully, [God’s] humanity, the family, with the child and parents,” said UST prefect of libraries Fr. Angel Aparicio, OP, who also led the conceptualization of "Misteryo: Ikaw at ang Pasko," the exhibit.   

Amid the popularization of the pine trees and parol, Fr. Aparicio said that the Belen still shines as the central symbol of Christmas. And shine at the exhibit they did.  

After observing the Fra Angelo painting of the Anunciation hung at a gate displayed on the library’s lobby, the visitor is then directed to the main display hall by a series of lanterns, an ode to the star the wise men to Bethlehem.  

“Because of Eve, the door to Paradise was closed. Through the Virgin Mary, the door to heaven was opened to us,” read a statement on the hall’s glass door adorned by two kneeling angels.  

The sets ranged from those smaller than a palm to huge dioramas welcoming visitors to the main display hall. Some depicted the birth of Christ in various versions such as localized versions of Jesus’ birth; like a Mary in Kimono and an Angel Gabriel in Barong Tagalog.

“[Belen] also means “house of bread” in Hebrew. The bread represents feeding, nourishing food. Belen nourishes our faith,” he told GMA News Online. “We get the opportunity of growing spiritually.”  

Visitors are advised to take their time in viewing the display, so they can further absorb the mood and contemplation that the exhibit wants to express.  

“The idea was [for visitors] to have the meditation on the mystery of Christmas,” said Fr. Aparicio. “With the music which is also conducive for meditation...we want to give a feeling of a sacred space.”  

“You can see different materials used [by creators[ and how [the Nativity[ is represented through different cultures,” said Lock, who visited “Misteryo” with her friends for her Theology class. Aside from manger replicas, visitors are also treated to copies of Fra Angelico’s paintings, a review of Christmas story highlights as told through the Gospel of Matthew and Luke, and possibly the only copy of Book of Hours in the Philippines.  

The ancient devotional manuscript, published not later than 1525, was written in Latin and hand-painted with images of the events surrounding the life of Jesus, and each page could be worth around $1000 according to exhibit secretary Diana Padilla.  

“Its discovery really is a mystery,” Padilla told GMA News Online. “We do not know how it got into our archives.”  

Despite being primarily set-up for the Thomasian Community, “Misteryo” is open to the public, where it will continue to feature various Belen until February 2.  

“In previous times, Christmas celebration lasts until the time of the Presentation of Jesus to the temple which is February 2,” explained Fr. Aparicio. “We want to extend the opportunity (to visit the exhibit) for people who are too busy this season.”  

“Misteryo” is more than just a beautiful reminder, said Fr. Aparicio, as he challenges visitors to look beyond the aesthetics of the depiction of Jesus’ birth in various forms of artistic media.

“We want to provoke the viewer to have a personal relation with the symbol, and reflect on how we celebrate Christmas,” he told GMA News Online. “We have to go beyond the nativity.”  

“Misteryo features 61 sets of Belen from the personal collection of Gloria Ocampo Reyes. The exhibit will be on break from December 22 until classes resume in January 2013.  – KDM, GMA News