Building a Bethlehem cave to celebrate Christmas in Ha Tinh

Bethlehem caves made from thousands of bamboo trees, meters and cement bags are being busily built by parishioners in Ha Tinh to welcome Christmas 2023.

Video : Bethlehem cave built at Van Hanh Cathedral Parish

These days, taking advantage of the sunny weather, parishioners of Trung Phu hamlet in Van Hanh Cathedral Parish (Thach Trung commune, Ha Tinh city) are busy building the Bethlehem grotto to welcome Christmas 2023. Van Hanh Cathedral Parish has 4 hamlets and 2 parishes. The construction of the Bethlehem grotto each year will be in charge of 1 hamlet or parish. This year, Trung Phu hamlet is in charge of the construction.

The Bethlehem grotto in Van Hanh Cathedral Parish was built on an area of ​​2,000 ^{square meters} with the main materials being thousands of bamboo trees, meter trees and cement bags. This year's grotto is 80 meters long, 40 meters wide and 25 meters high.

Mr. Nguyen Hoang Phuc - the person in charge of building the Bethlehem grotto of Trung Phu parish said: The grotto was started on October 17; up to now, 4,300 bamboo trees, 1,000 meters have been used and the grotto frame has basically been completed, reaching 50% of the workload. To complete the grotto, it is estimated that 500 more bamboo trees, 200 meters will be needed.

With the goal of completing the cave before December 15 to serve visitors, on average 60-70 people participate in the construction work every day. On peak days, up to 120 people can work together and all participate with a spirit of volunteerism, responsibility, for the common work.

After completing the rough construction, the parishioners will cover it with cement bags, spray paint and decorate the Bethlehem grotto with motifs, miniatures, lighting systems...

The path from the starting point to the end of the Bethlehem cave is about 200m long, made from many bamboo sticks, 1.4m wide, enough for 2 people to walk at the same time. According to calculations, when completed, the cave can ensure 500 to a maximum of 1,000 visitors at the same time.

Video: Bethlehem cave welcomes Christmas at An Nhien parish

Also at this time, the parishioners of An Nhien Parish (Thach Ha Commune, Ha Tinh City) are busy building the Bethlehem grotto to welcome Christmas 2023. This year, the construction of the Bethlehem grotto was undertaken by An Trung parish and started on November 2.

For many years now, the large Bethlehem cave has become a “brand” in An Nhien Parish. During Christmas 2023, the cave in this parish is 70m long, 30m wide, 12m high, with the main materials being bamboo, bamboo and cement bags.

After more than a week of construction, the Bethlehem grotto in An Nhien Parish gradually took shape. Under the skillful and meticulous hands of the parishioners, bamboo, meters and cement packaging were combined harmoniously, looking no different from large natural stone blocks stacked together.

According to Mr. Nguyen Xuan Huy - Head of the An Trung Hamlet's Parish Council, on average, 55 - 60 people participate in the work of building the grotto every day. If everything goes well, the rough construction will be completed on November 20 and then the landscape decoration, electrical installation, decorative lights, etc. will be carried out.

Despite its large size, while the frame is mainly made of bamboo and bamboo, over the years, the Bethlehem cave in An Nhien Parish has always been sturdy and safe for visitors. This comes from careful and meticulous calculations during the design, construction and decoration of the cave.

People of An Nhien Parish expect the Bethlehem grotto to be completed before December 15 to serve people for entertainment, sightseeing, and taking photos to welcome Christmas 2023.

Decorating the Christmas nativity scene is a way to re-enact the story of God coming to earth as a human in the Bible, carrying the meaning of the harmony of God's Son with humanity.

The Bethlehem nativity scene is the centerpiece of Catholic Christmas decorations around the world. Churches all make a Bethlehem nativity scene, telling the story of Jesus' birth.

During Christmas season, Catholics everywhere often make nativity scenes to recreate the Nativity scene.

Quynh Chi

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/van-hoa-ha-tinh/dung-hang-be-lem-don-giang-sinh-o-ha-tinh/257120.htm