What a treat the Belen is set up again in the middle of Rojales by the river, best view at night time when its lit up. It must be a mammoth task to set this up every year. A "Belén" is a nativity scene by the way. Nativities are very popular in Spain. Many homes will have them,its something we always did when our children were young. We would make all the figures ourselves all part of the build up to Chritmas.Here you can buy an amazing variety at all different prices. If you are looking for a bargain there's a shop with a sale near the big electrical store on the Calle De Las Valencianas in Rojales. In some towns you find very elaborate nativities in the town square. In most towns they depict not only the scene in the manger but also scenes leading up to and after the birth of Jesus. This is the case with the Rojales one. Some places go the whole hog and use real actors. One town in Spain shows 25 different scenes and uses 180 actors! People walk throughout the town visiting the different scenes. They have become very popular tourist attractions. It is very common for a nativity scene showing the manger to have stream or brook. And in addition to the traditional animals shown at the manger, such as pigs, sheep and donkeys, you might also see that symbol of Spain, the bull. In rojales you will see about every animal you can think of including snakes, which is appropriate as we watched a whopper of a snake swimming in the river the other day.
If you not here for Christmas take a look at the link and enjoy the Belen online. By the way Belen is also a popular name for girls here in Spain, lovely isn't it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl-iBUOS0VE&feature=related
The Yule Wreath pictured was made by our daughter Bec
