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On Sunday I went up to the monastery of Montserrat by bicycle and, upon arriving at the square, I was amazed to see first the Romans and then all the people dressed in period costumes performing different jobs. I asked and it was a meeting of different living nativity scenes from Catalonia all gathered there, as seen in the Photos of the Readers of La Vanguardia.
The sanctuary of Santa Maria de Montserrat hosted a living macro-manger, which brought together for the first time 33 living mangers from Catalonia. It was a unique and joint production, with almost 900 extras.
This giant living nativity scene, organized by the Federation of Pessebres Vivents of Catalonia and the Abbey of Montserrat, is one of the central events of the celebration of the 800th anniversary of the first representation of the birth of Jesus, made by Saint Francis of Assisi, in 1223, in the Italian town of Greccio.
Among the different scenes, visitors could see in Montserrat the Roman camp, the annunciation to the shepherds, the stable, the market and the services, the gladiators or the Roman temple, among others.
The tradition of making living nativity scenes in Catalonia has a long history with nativity scenes that have been performed for more than 50 years, such as in Bàscara, Castell d'Aro, Els Prats de Rei, Sant Fost de Campsentelles, Sant Martí de Llémena and ton
In addition, in the last ten years towns such as Cànoves and Samalús, Salou, Sant Jaume dels Domenys, Viladecans, Món Sant Benet or Vila-sacra have joined the organization of this type of event.
These are large-format montages, which involve a multitude of people and whose great incentive is the discovery of towns with emblematic natural or historical sites such as the old towns of Pals, Castell d'Aro or Bàscara, the unpopulated nucleus of the Masies. Castelló in Vandellós, the monastery of San Salvador de Breda, Les Torres del Castillo de Fals or the 17th century aqueduct where the Pessebre Vivent del Pont Llarg de Manresa is made.
