Christmas - Step by Step

 While people in the U.S. were enjoying their Thanksgiving dinner, I was decorating the condo for Christmas.  

Actually, I started the day before Thanksgiving.  I got the boxes down from the top shelf of the closet.  

The first step was relatively easy.  I set up the Nativity scene on top of the cabinet in the living room.

I've had this set for more than thirty-five years.  I took a group of my teaching colleagues on a trip to Mexico City during Christmas vacation.  This occurred right after a devaluation of the peso, and for those of us bearing dollars, everything was incredibly inexpensive.  I bought this charming Nativity set for the equivalent of only ten U.S. dollars.  Years later, a friend of mine made the structure, which is known as a "portal" in Spanish, out of plaster bricks.

Next I began on the more difficult part... setting up the Christmas tree, and below it preparing the stage for my elaborate Bethlehem scene.

Alejandro gave me the artificial tree when I made the move to Mexico.  I unfolds and is suspended from a central pole.

Fortunately, I had saved from last year the panels of green flannel fabric for the landscaping of the village.  Before proceeding any further with Bethlehem however, I put the lights on the tree.

The first bit of landscaping it did was to create the river and waterfall with blue cellophane and aluminum foil.  

To make it appear more natural, I surrounded the stream with rocks and what is called "heno".  "Heno" is an epiphyte similar to Spanish moss that grows in tropical forests.  It is harvested and sold in the markets at Christmas for Nativity scenes.  I have since read that the harvesting of "heno" is ecologically damaging for the forests.  So, I am glad that I saved the "heno" from last year, and I could simply recycle what I already had instead of buying more.

Before proceeding further with Bethlehem village, I decorated the tree.

Most of the ornaments (known as "esferas" in Spanish) were purchased at markets here in Mexico City.  There are plenty of ornaments that are made in China, but I made a point of buying those made in Mexico.  The towns of Tlalpujahua in the state of Michoacán and Chignahuapan in the state of Puebla are famous for their "esferas".  Because the tree is so skinny, I had to content myself with small ornaments.

Next came the part that is most the most fun and also the most challenging... creating my Bethlehem with scores of houses, people and animals, and making it all look natural with more stones and "heno".  I have been collecting the figures for years, but now that I live here, I am here during the Christmas season when the markets are filled with a wide variety.

 

The only problem is that my Bethlehem is now filled to capacity.  No more trips to the market at Christmas to buy more figures.  😞