'The Belens' are a Christmas Time Tradition here in Tenerife. The word Belen means Bethlehem.
In the UK I suppose we would call them Nativity Scenes, but here in #Tenerife it is a tradition that dates back a lot of generations, fortunately for us it's a tradition that has been kept alive.Most of the municipals on the Island run a competition for the best 'Belen' different groups or villages enter the competition and spend a lot of hours during the year making Model houses/buildings and crafting figurines to place in the Belen.
An area is allocated whether it's a piece of land or just a space in a building somewhere, it can be big or small.
These pictures are of the winning Belen in La Laguna for 2015 Taco, they always a have superb Belen, depicting the different activities that go on in the area through out the year.
With moving models of Carpenters and Potters,running irrigation systems watering the fields which are planted.
This year there is a Romeria procession and a Fiesta in the plaza, of course it would not be a normal Belen without the figurine of the man going behind a building to discretely do his business !! all in good fun.
Yet another must see, if you are on the Island at the right time.
