The nativity scene will come from Peru, while the Christmas tree, a fir tree 28 metres high, will come from the Trentino region in northern Italy.

Newsroom (28/10/2021 18:00, Gaudium Press) The Vatican City State Government has issued a note providing information about the Nativity scene and the Christmas tree that will adorn St. Peter’s Square during this year’s festivities.

Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, president of the government of the Vatican City State, informed that the traditional nativity scene will come from Peru, while the Christmas tree, a 28-meter-tall fir tree, will come from the Trentino region, located in northern Italy.

Peruvian nativity scene

Coming from the Andes, from the village of Chopcca, a community in the department of Huancavelica (Peru), the crib will be made up of more than 30 traditional pieces, the work of five famous artists from Huancavelica.

“The Peruvian nativity scene wants to remember the 200 years of independence of the country, reproduce a cut of the life of the Andean peoples and symbolize the universal call to salvation, as the Son of God became incarnate to save every man and woman of the earth, whatever the language, people, culture and nation to which they belong,” the note says.

Inauguration of the nativity scene and lighting of the Christmas tree

The inauguration of the crib and the lighting of the Christmas tree in St. Peter’s Square has already a date and time to take place. The traditional ceremony, which will be presided over by Archbishop Alzaga, is scheduled for 10 December at 5pm (Rome time).

The Christmas decorations will remain on display in St. Peter’s Square until the conclusion of the Christmas season, which coincides with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, January 9, 2022, the second Sunday of the month. (EPC)