It's Christmas day, the presents have been opened, and I've snuck away to write a little post about one of the Spanish Christmas traditions that I really like: the Belén, which is the Spanish word for 'Bethlehem'. While the traditional American Christmas centerpiece is the tree, which has its roots in ancient pagan religions that worshiped nature (you can read a bit more on that by CLICKING HERE or by reading the article at Wikipedia), the Belén has its source purely in the Christian story of Jesus' birth.
Rachel and I have always displayed a small manger scene during the Christmas season, but the goal of the Spanish Belén is much more than just the manger scene. Most families begin with the basics of the manger with the holy family and a few animals but over the years gradually build the whole town of Belén, complete with a marketplace, various shops and everyday people going about their business. Of course, they tend to be a bit adapted to Spanish culture, since one of our neighbors proudly displayed a cured ham shop in her Belén (common for Spain but probably not too common for good kosher Jews in the first century!). Beyond simply building the town, some local businesses impressively build the whole Christmas story in their storefront windows. It's quite common for people in Córdoba to go out during the Christmas season simply to look at the various Belenes displayed by businesses, civic associations and churches.
The one question I have as I reflect on Jesus' birth, the cultural tradition of the Belén & Spaniards is this: do Spaniards really understand why God sent His Son to become human and how that should impact their lives? For the whole shadow of Christianity that remains here in Spain (shrinking by the day in many ways), I'm afraid that there is a huge disconnect between cultural traditions (as Biblical as they may be) and lives that are different due to what God has done. And I suppose that's why we're here.
If you'd like to check out some of our photos of Córdoba at Christmastime, including a few Belenes like the one above, CLICK HERE. ¡Feliz Navidad!
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