Christmas in Burgos

The frozen north

I'm in Spain, where x*m* is still a religious festival celebrating the birth of one Jesus Christ and not a shopping frenzy of american proportions. Most people work the day before and the day after. The bakers, of course, work all thru' as Spain would grind to a confused and panicked halt if they didn't. The big day is "los reyes", the kings, 6 jan, celebrating the arrival of Balthazar and his buddies to hail the Baby Jesus. Presents are given and parades take place and people are out in force everywhere ........ just in case you've all forgotten that its not a pagan festival dedicated to the worship of M and S, BHS, Woolies, Tescos, and all those other halls of Mammon. 

My personal invovlement in all this finished at school on Friday with the construction of Father Christmas' Grotto and adding the finishing touches to the belen that Carlos built (as opposed to the House that Jack built). A belen is what we'd call a nativity scene - but you have to think MUCH bigger ...... ours is about ohhhhh ...... 3m by 2m and features a castle, a running stream, fairy lights, kings on their camels led by delightfully femenine looking pages, shepherds, the Baby Jesus, moss, sand, leaves, hills and caves and so on. Most have a wonderful figure taking his ease, and known as "El caganer" or The Crapper. 

The very irreverant holiness himself.

Some villages take to the hills to build their belens. This gives plenty of scope for taking the kids, lots of food and plenty of wine up the hill too. Ooops, we've forgotten all the materials to build the belen, back down the hill, and while we're there a tad more food and feeling a bit dry, so some more wine too. The best belen here in Burgos is in a modern catholic church with a VERY scary wooden sculpture of Christ crucified, its enormous and takes up about 50 sq m ............ it has everything from burning camp fires to the angels and stars in the heavens, there is of course "el caganer" or "The Crapper" but I somehow doubt it will be the Pope! Well worth a visit. In fact ........ I'm off now.