10,000 Spanish Santas

Mexico, Poland, United States, Haiti, Malaysia and Japan are just a few of the 112 countries represented in Antonio Basanta’s magnificent collection.

On December 24th 1223, nearly eight centuries ago, Saint Francis of Assisi created the first live nativity scene after returning from the Holy Land where he had visited Jesus’s birthplace. The popularity of the idea inspired Christian communities throughout the world to stage similar representations, which gradually became a Christmas tradition in Catholic countries, where it is now a widespread practice to set up a crèche or manger at home, frequently coexisting with the tree and wreaths that also symbolize Christmas universally.

In Madrid the exhibition “Noche de Luz” –“Night of Light”– inaugurated on December 4th at the Casa del Lector shows the huge success of the nativity scene in practically all the countries of the world. Mexico, Poland, United States, Haiti, Malaysia and Japan are just a few of the 112 countries represented in Antonio Basanta’s magnificent collection, demonstrating that there are as many ways to artistically interpret the birth of Jesus as nationalities in the world. The 228 unique mangers –with a total of 3,000 figures– prove that the Christian manger is a global icon.

But not all is calm and bright where nativity scenes are concerned. In 1969, the American Civil Liberties Union tried to stop the placing of a large crèche on the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., arguing that a government backing this Christian symbol violates the separation of church and state. Since then it has generally been considered in the United States that the primary intention of the display is to advance religion. In Spain, France and Italy it is common for local administrations to finance the placing of Christmas nativity scenes in public spaces. The newfangled Christmas craze is the Madrid Santa Race, with 10,000 bearded people clad in red scampering through Spain’s capital city at this December’s fourth edition.