The Impressive Nativity Scene to Highlight Alicante's Christmas Celebration

Alicante/December 03, 2023

The impressive structure, which holds a place in the Guinness Book of World Records, is being installed and will be inaugurated on 5 December.

This year, the giant nativity scene, recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest in the world since 2020, returns to Alicante to be the centre of attention for residents and tourists, consolidating itself as the jewel in the crown of the city's festivities for the third year in a row.

The installation began the countdown to its inauguration on Tuesday 5 December in Alicante's Plaza del Ayuntamiento, with the first elements arriving early in the morning on 30 November. The city council reported that "assembly work, carried out mainly at night, will continue until the early hours of Tuesday morning, 5 December".

The first trucks with the elements left shortly after midnight from the workshop of artist José Manuel García "Pachi" in San Vicente del Raspeig. The choice to carry out the assembly at night was justified "to avoid traffic complications due to the passage of heavy trucks".

"From the morning of Thursday 30 November, the lower part of the, still unassembled, statues of St Joseph and two of the three Wise Men could already be seen. From the following morning until Tuesday, the assembly of the world's largest nativity scene will be completed." Last night was the first of six trips the artist and his team plan to make until the giant nativity scene is fully assembled.

"Pachi", who has already set up a nativity scene in City Hall Square in 2019 with figures of the Virgin Mary, St Joseph and baby Jesus, and placed it on the Esplanade of Spain in 2022, adding the Wise Men from the East, explained that he prefers City Hall Square because "it offers more space to work. Because it is more sheltered, it is less exposed to adverse weather conditions".

The sky-reaching, monumental dimensions of the Christmas composition have earned it recognition in the prestigious Guinness Book of World Records. The figure of Saint Joseph is 17 metres high, the Virgin Mary is 10 metres high and the Christ Child is 3.25 metres high. As for the Three Wise Men, Melchior is eleven metres high, Gaspar 15.6 metres and Balthazar 16 metres.

It is definitely worth going to Alicante in person to see the Nativity scene, which is absolutely impressive in its size.