Bethlehem

Hello! I have been feeling the Christmas spirit here in Spain...finally, Ciudad Real has turned on its Christmas lights (no doubt a money-saving method with the cree-sees (crisis)) and the city is beautiful, especially at night. In the Plaza Mayor or Main Square there is a huge carousel and a huge christmas tree made of lights and all the streets have lights having from one side to the other. The only downfall--today is a nasty, blustery winter day and the fence around the three wise men on camelback (made out of lights) has fallen over, taking down two of the three wise men with it! What a shame!
I have also felt the Christmas spirit in a lot of my private classes. We have been talking about Christmas and how they celebrate it. Here are some of the differences: They put up a Belén (a Bethlehem scene) and a small Christmas tree. On Christmas they eat ham and cheese and a big meal. They celebrate nearly everything on the 24th. They also believe New Years Eve is a part of Christmas. What else? Kids don't really buy their parents or family members presents.
Anyway, so the Belén. This is a phenomenon that I just love here. You know how we sometimes put up the nativity scene? Well, this is a nativity scene on steroids! Its huge (may take up half the living room, some people even rent out spaces to put theirs up) and it is the entire town of Bethlehem as it would have been at the time of the birth of Jesus. Of course, in the middle, is our typical little nativity scene with the angel, the three wise men, and the donkey. They have lights, water, moving parts, and even real dirt and leaves. They always have a castle and the inn (posada) that of course was full when Santa Maria and San José (mary and joseph) arrived. I will leave you with some pictures of my co-worker Luis' Belén (taken by him) Its the best one I've seen yet. The city also has their own municipal Belen.
Stats: One day to complete.
148 figures (or more, people and animals)
a baker putting bread in the oven
the matanza (scene of them killing the pig and hanging it to dry, then preparing it over the fire)
Moving river and water wheel with real water.
1/2 the living room


Keep in mind only Spaniards with storage space can enjoy the Christmas tradition of making a Belen!

Pilar's Belen
Clara and Inés.


Here we have pictures of my other co-worker Pilar's Belen and our school Belen, which is made with eggs for people. Its really cute and really detailed as well. Finally, theres a picture of some of my favorite students Clara and Inés, Teresa's twin daughters. We made Christmas cards during our private lesson this week. Oh, and a wreath made out of the typical Maria cookies that everyone eats for breakfast here!