Belenes, or Spanish Nativity Sets

As introduced last month, I'm continuing my Spanish culture segment with the next alphabetic installment: Belenes (or Spanish nativity sets).  We're a few months out from Christmas, but it won't be long before the decorations will come out.   I'll decorate my apartment with various nativity sets that I’ve collected from other countries, but although I've wanted to buy a nice Spanish one, I've had a hard time finding one.  Here's why:  Spanish nativity sets are passed on through families.  Each year, the family adds a new element or two, until the nativity set is large and detailed—possibly entire villages, castles, and hundreds of tiny details that surround the Christ-family somewhere in the mix. In fact,  Belén literally means, "Bethlehem" in Spanish so perhaps that's part of why they set up an elaborate village scene, rather than just the usual few figurines.

Although you may have a Nativity set in your home this year, the custom of displaying some type of nativity began in the 1200’s in Italy, although they didn’t contain individual (separate) figures at first. In fact, the first sets were elaborately carved from coral or fashioned in silver or bronze, and were displayed by Catholic churches. But in 1759, King Charles III brought his wife from Italy to Madrid, and she wanted to bring her Italian tradition of the Nativity with her. Her set contained 7000 pieces! And as the Madrileños trooped through the Royal Palace to see her incredible set, it quickly created a fashion among the aristocracy to have their own set at home, and eventually this spread to the common homes as well. Of course, the increase of Nativity sets grew from the initial roots in Europe to the entire world!

Today in Spain, the nativity sets are like American train gardens, with churches and municipal buildings offering paid tours of their huge sets throughout every major city of the country. And they feature hidden and surprising little characters or elements, too, to capture the attention or imagination.

But with so many tiny pieces and characters, let’s not forget the significance of the display: the birth of Christ, the gift of God for the world. Although the artistic details of a Spanish nativity set can attract the eye, only Jesus Christ Himself can attract the heart of man. And He does that EVERY DAY, not just in December.