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Live nativity scenes in Castell d’Aro.

Having received an incredible charge of impressions after visiting the traditional Catalan live nativity scenes (Pessebra Vivent in Catalan) in Pals, we hurried to see a similar performance that takes place close to our home – in the medieval part of the city of Castell d’Aro and on the bank of a creek flowing nearby. As it turned out, the local performance is one of the oldest in Catalonia, it has been held since 1959.

Unlike in Pals, the participants of the performance are separated from the audience and depict scenes of the rural life of the time of Christ’s birth. And there is absolutely a complete impression that, contrary to all church canons, Jesus was born here, in Catalonia😃.

We invite you to make a short virtual walk and to enjoy live nativity scenes in Castell d’Aro.

One of the first scenes is a village blacksmith. Children, and adults too, usually stick here for a long time; you know, you can look at three things forever – at fire, at water, and at a working person😃.
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The medieval Benidorm castle Castel d’Aro looks very mysterious in the evening light.
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Formidable Roman soldiers reliably guard the sleep of the peaceful Catalans.

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Pretty girls-angels bring the good news of the birth of Jesus to the shepherds.
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And in the Galilean (Catalan) village, life continues day and night, everyone works, from young to old.
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Joseph and Mary (left) search in vain for a place to sleep in Bethlehem. On these days, a census was taking place in the city, so a large number of people from all over Judea arrived in Bethlehem, so that all inns were heavily booked.
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The baker bakes bread very realistically in a stone oven. At times, you might actually think that we traveled back in time 2,000 years ago. And only modern sneakers on the feet of the participants return us to our reality😃.
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The people of Judea send their heartfelt greetings across space and time to guests and residents of the Costa Brava.
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While men have a great time in good company, hardworking women mine charcoal in the thicket of the forest.
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Palace of the Jewish king Herod.
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A delegation of Catalan shepherds paid a friendly visit to Judea to exchange experiences.
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Landscapes of Catalonia Judea. On a warm winter evening, under the quiet murmur of a brook and the creak of a water wheel, the miller’s son takes care of a young village lady. In the background, Bethlehem real estate agents are examining the floor plan of a house that has been put on sale following the departure of a retired Roman legionnaire.

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Good-natured peasant women offer to buy organic food at the evening market.
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The participants of the performance took the matter seriously and plowed half of the field.
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The final scene of the performance is Joseph and Mary with a newborn baby.

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A more detailed story about live nativity scenes in Castell d’Aro can be found in our blog following the link. You can find a schedule of similar performances in your nearest city of Catalonia on the Pessebres Vivents website.