Nativity scene in Plaça Sant Jaume

Every year, Barcelona city council pays tribute to the tradition in many Catalan homes of setting up a nativity scene (pessebre in Catalan), by constructing a large-scale one in the central square of Sant Jaume. The production of the crib changes hands from year to year, with both traditional and contemporary styles having been employed in recent editions, but always with the familiar characters of the Holy Family, shepherds, Three Kings and angels. Look out too for local touches, such as the caganer, a Catalan farmer who will be found somewhere in the scene, crouching down to defecate in representation of the returning to the earth of what we take from it.