Christmas brings with it a series of traditions and customs that tend to unite people around tables, Christmas carols and sweets. But in Barcelona there is a tradition which, more than uniting, separates: the crèche in Place Sant Jaume. Throughout recent history, what should be a cause for celebration has ended up being a cause for division in the streets and conflict in the political sphere.
On the one hand, those who want a traditional nativity scene, with its Virgin, its Saint Joseph and the child Jesus. On the other hand, they want something more modern and, incidentally, more secular. After years of protest, the current municipal government decided to install neither in the square and to place the crèche inside the town hall. But this Solomonic decision was not enough for the most conservative sector. Vox has decided to set up a traditional crèche on the square.
This is the second year they’ve done it. The group requested authorization to set up their crèche and the municipality granted it for a period of two hours. At that time, the members of the team, led by Ignasi Garriga, demanded that Barcelona “recover” its crèche, in the face of the “big lie” of “winter festivities”. In statements to the media, Garriga said that the socialists are “erasing culture” by refusing to install the crèche in Sant Jaume.
This dispute began with the arrival of Ada Colau at Barcelona City Hall. Under his command, the traditional nativity scene gave way to a kind of Christmas staging which, with varying degrees of success, attempted to celebrate Christmas in the center of the city.
This change aroused the anger of the most conservative Christmas sector of citizens and the plenary session of the council. And every year, when something that deviated from the traditional image was installed, conservatives cried foul. In the street, the discussion was calmer and based more on each person’s tastes.
Collboni chose to place neither, but decorated the square by projecting Christmas lights on the facades of the buildings that line the square: the City Hall and the Generalitat. For those who want a traditional crèche, the mayor has installed one inside the town hall. However, this is not enough to end the controversy that VOX has once again sparked in the streets today.
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