Making a Scene: Pessebres in Catalunya

If you’ve spent any time at all in Barcelona during the run-up to Christmas, chances are you’ll have seen a typical Catalan pessebre, or nativity scene. From the life-size figures in Plaça Sant Jaume or the Cathedral’s cloisters to the jam-packed stalls at the Fira de Santa Llúcia, pessebres are big business.

The traditional nativity scene has been around since the 12th century, when the first one is said to have been made by Saint Francis of Assisi. Spreading around the Mediterranean from Italy, the trend found a home in Catalunya—first in the large displays put up in churches and squares and later in the intricate scenes set up in houses all across the region during the festive season.

Abel Plana is former president of the Amícs del Pessebre de Santa María del Mar. Every year since 2002, the group has worked on the pessebre for El Born’s famous cathedral, which has grown over the years to become the huge 32 square meter display they have today. Working each weekend from October until early December, when the finished piece is unveiled and consecrated, the group chooses a different theme each year.

In October of 2010, the Amícs launched the Escola-Taller de Pessebres de Barcelona; the first of its kind in the city. The school teaches traditional techniques for modelling, painting and decorating pessebres. The finished models will be displayed in Casa dels Entremesos, with a step-by-step guide to how the models are made. “The good thing is that we have people of all ages, from 16 to 60,” Abel says. “And it’s not particularly a religious thing either. Of course, everyone in the group has their own beliefs, but pessebrisme is more about Catalan culture and keeping traditions alive.”

Mireia Grisolia would be inclined to agree with him. She ran the Reixach-Campanyà shop on Passeig de Gràcia until it closed in 2014. This cavern-like treasure trove of religious art occupied the same spot for just over 100 years and came alive each Christmas with a stunning display of nativity scenes. She believes that pessebres are enjoying something of a resurgence thanks to parents who want to give their children the traditional Christmas they remember from their own childhoods.

Mireia’s family business was founded by the sculptor Josep Reixach in 1874 and, after being sold to her great-grandfather in 1923, was passed down through three generations of women in the family until Mireia took it over. “At its peak under my great-grandad, there were 20 craftsmen working there,” Mireia says. “But over the years demand fell and the workmen, one by one, retired or died. When I started out, we had no one making models here at all.”

All of Reixach-Campanyà’s models were made of wood pulp, using age-old techniques. The figures were molded in two halves, heads and extremities attached, eyes inserted individually from inside the head. “Each finger had a metal rod inside it so that if it gets dropped, it doesn’t break off completely,” Mireia notes, pointing out the attention to detail that went into each piece.

“It’s almost impossible to give a simple estimate of how much time it takes to make one figure,” she says. “For example, a single figure perhaps took eight hours all in all. But obviously there is a lot of waiting between each stage in the process, and every little detail, like adding gold leaf or hand-painting the patterns on the clothes, can add hours.”

Unfortunately, since its closure in 2014, these carefully crafted figures from Mireia’s workshop are are no longer available for your home nativity scene. However, incredibly enough, the iconic, hand-clasping baby Jesus that features in the most significant of all nativity scenes—that of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem—is an original Reixach Campanyà model, taken to the Holy Land in the Thirties by Franciscan monks.

Caganers

The little figure of a barretina-wearing "crapper" caught quite literally with his pants down is one of the most curious and enduring symbols of Catalunya at Christmas. Its origins are unclear, but it’s been documented as far back as the 17th century, and similar figures are also seen in parts of France and Italy.

Caganers are usually tucked away in an unobtrusive part of the pessebre, far from the actual nativity scene. In fact, finding the hidden figure within the model has always been a popular game for children. There was outrage in 2005 when the Ajuntament de Barcelona chose to omit the famous figure from its nativity scene in Plaça Sant Jaume and the caganer was restored the following year.

No one is sure why the figure of a man relieving himself should feature in the holiest of scenes, but there are many theories. Some say that he represents good luck or fertility, the equality of all people or the humanity of Jesus, while others claim that it simply makes the scene more down-to-earth and realistic.

Published November 30, 2010, updated December 15, 2023.