Jesus' nappy and other religious relics

Yeah, so Christian religious relics are all over the place here in Dubrovnik. Apparently, the thing to do once the holy guy goes to the big reception in the sky is cut off what ever you want of him/her (but let's face it, usually a him) be it a finger, foot, piece of skull - what ever. Then make a piece of silver that looks like the relic (i.e. a hollow silver finger for a severed finger, a hollow silver leg for a severed leg, etc) and then stick the body part in the silver casing, being sure to cut a hole in the sliver casing so a little piece of holiness is visible. Lovely.

So the local story here is that bishops passed down the swaddling cloths that Mary wrapped Jesus in after Nativity goings on from generation to generation. They kept it a secret until a mouthy nun caught wind and told the whole town. I mean really, even vows of silence can’t keep women from gossiping! Anywho, the town wanted to start using the blanket to help postnatal women recover. They did so by cutting pieces of the blankly and then doing something with it...who knows what. Of course, the women were healed. Oh, and every time they cut off a piece, the blanket reverted to its full size - like a blankly cornucopia. All this went on with no hiccups until one day someone cut off a piece for a Bosnian queen but because she was Muslim it didn't work and the blankly never worked again for any woman. Such is the legend of the Jesus Nappy.

Absurd as all that sounds, it does speak to the strong underlying nasty feelings between the ethnic groups that have been around for a hell of a long time...