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 Grotto 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 sub-parishes. The construction of the Bethlehem grotto will be undertaken by 1 hamlet or sub-parish each year. 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 for visitors, on average 60-70 people participate in the construction work each day. On peak days, up to 120 people can work together and all participate voluntarily, responsibly, for the common good.

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

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 accommodate 500 to a maximum of 1,000 people at the same time.

Video: Bethlehem cave welcomes Christmas at An Nhien parish

Also at this time, 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 grotto has become a “brand” in An Nhien Parish. During Christmas 2023, the grotto in this parish is 70m long, 30m wide, 12m high, with the main materials being bamboo, cypress 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 harmoniously combined, looking no different from large natural stone blocks stacked on top of each other.

According to Mr. Nguyen Xuan Huy - Head of the An Trung Hamlet Parish Committee, 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 wiring, decorative lights, etc. will be carried out.

Despite its large size, while the frame is mainly made of bamboo and cypress, over the years, the Bethlehem cave in An Nhien Parish has always been sturdy and safe for visitors. This comes from careful 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 to have fun, visit, and take 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, symbolizing 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 a nativity scene to recreate the scene of the Nativity of Jesus.

Quynh Chi

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