Christmas Transformation

 

Bring on the Lights!

I have had an affinity for Christmas lights for as long as I can remember. It probably comes from my dad who loved to drive around each year and check out the fun Xmas light displays. Greensboro, NC has a neighborhood that hangs enormous chicken wire light balls in their towering canopy and it is like a otherworldly fairy wonderland. You can see it in this link but it does not capture the wonder of seeing it in person. Greensboro lights

When I lived in Massachusetts and Vermont towns put lights up early often the first week of November and left them up until the end of January. It helps with the oppressive winter darkness that sets in and encourages people to get out and socialize. Since Zaragoza is roughly parallel with Boston I was thrilled to see lights being hung right after Halloween. Remember there is no Thanksgiving so it is straight into the Christmas preparations here.

The city transformed into a winter wonderland. With streets topped by curtains of lights or almost light art pieces. The main rotundas and plazas sprouted huge metal framed trees and orbs completely adorned in lights. I was like a kid in a candy shop.....my inner child was pretty well depicted by the Zaragoza Turismo ad this year.

Did Someone say Holiday Market(s)?

The main Plaza was transformed into an holiday market. There were easily a 150 little cabins, strung with lights and topped with fake snow that became the holiday market. I have read that Zaragoza has the best holiday market out side of Germany. I know I enjoyed it and so did the rest of the city. I was body to body every evening. We learned to go in the morning to really get to shop the different vendors. 

There were food stalls including crepes, churros, roasted chestnuts, Beer and wine, Cheese and jamon, and bocadillos (sandwiches). Lots of toys, winter hats, and jewelry. There was a gentleman with lots of bottles and I didn't know if it was soap or lotion or what. It turned out to be homemade liquors. I got a present of two bottles of the Kahlua (Merry Christmas!). They were very reminiscent of the homemade kahlua I made when I was in the Peace Corps.

I was personal fan of the belen (Nativity shops) They were full of little miniature items for family belens. They have all the classic items: farm animals, wise men, camels, and the crèche. There were also frying pans with ham & eggs, or eggs and sausage, paella pans including shrimp, plants & animals of all kinds, and loads of tiny clothes, and building materials. 

Now this was the big market but there were little cabins set up along the streets and in several other plazas that we stumbled upon through out December. 

Belens aka Nativity Scenes....

Belens are HUGE here in many ways. The plaza is very long And was bookended by an ice skating rink on one end and a giant sledding hill on the other. The market was next on both ends but the very center of the plaza was a giant belen that they began building before Halloween. We discovered a Christmas song Burrito Sabanero or Burrito de Belen (your welcome...it will be stuck in your head all day.....we know). one local bank does a miniature belen that is fills a room that is 25ft by 20 ft. Apparently they have been doing this since the 50's

The belen in the plaza is life size, They brought in Truck loads of dirt and huge rocks and landscaping timbers to raise a section of the plaza by about a meter. There were live Olive and Orange trees planted in the dirt (still in giant buckets that were buried). It was free to walk walk through and the line was often several hundred people long. Even though I watched the construction over the two month period, I was blown away. There was a fish pond with a stream and a water wheel. Lots of live plants not just the trees. They recreated a whole little city scene with various artisans and many life sized figures.

From the construction:

The Finished Belen:

The Rides

As mentioned the Plaza also had rides and activities. Along with the Sledding a skating there was a train for the wee ones, the wooden hand cranked Ferris wheel was back, and there were some fun looking automated stuffed horses that scooched along.

The plaza and lights ran from Dec1-Jan7th. We liked it all.