A Living Nativity

The Holy Family at the Lija LIVE Nativity

A few neighborhoods in various towns and villages in my homeland of Malta re-create the town of Bethlehem for a few weekends before Christmas. I witnessed this 3 years ago when I saw one particular street in the town of Lija where all the neighbors participated in creating a true rustic environment with sheep and lambs strolling down the street, children working in a bakery, households and families hanging around in their homes, and of course the Holy Family surrounded with a cow, a donkey and a few more sheep. Many visitors and tourists stroll around as if they were walking through the town of Bethlehem 2000 years ago.

Children herding sheep in Lija/Bethlehem

Children running a bakery in the LIVE Nativity