Kim from Snug Harbor Bay asked me a while back about difference between Christmas in Spain and the US. Well that's a question for another post (I'm still trying to figure it out!), but decoration-wise I'd say the biggest difference lies in the holiday centrepiece in one's home: the Christmas Tree (in Anglo-Saxon/Celtic tradition), or the Bel�n (for the Latin community i.e. Spain, all of Latin America and I think Italy as well). You'd call it the Nativity Scene or Cr�che, but that word is too small for us! Bel�n is the Spanish name for Bethlehem. We don't just recreate the Nativity in the Stable, we go for the whole town!!! When space allows it of course. ;o)
My mother shares memories of setting up the Bel�n with her Grandmother in Altea (small town up the coast). She remembers that for a long time before Christmas kids would save the silvery wrapping paper from chocolates and candies to use as part of the construction material for the Bel�n. And they would get bits of coal from the train tracks... Now most everything needed for the "construction" is bought in the supermarket.
When we lived in Mexico we had lots and LOTS of space to set up the Bel�n, now in a somewhat overstuffed apartment it can be hard to find just the right spot. This year I set it up (over at my parents') on a table under a window on the balcony, close to the tree (for extra effect with the twinkle lights!).
That table seems a bit "blah"... let's put in a background!
keep reading!
When we lived in Mexico we had lots and LOTS of space to set up the Bel�n, now in a somewhat overstuffed apartment it can be hard to find just the right spot. This year I set it up (over at my parents') on a table under a window on the balcony, close to the tree (for extra effect with the twinkle lights!).
That table seems a bit "blah"... let's put in a background!
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