What is the National Christmas Festival that a city in northern Argentina celebrates?

Santa’s sleigh flies over a welcome arch as it enters the city and announces the National Coastal Christmas Festival.

In the south of the province of Misiones, the town of Leandro N. Alem It dresses up every December with lights everywhere, good cuisine and a property dedicated to celebrating with samples of cribs from around the world and themed spaces from the Old Testament and life in the time of Jesus.

90 kilometers from Posadas and with a high immigrant component of the population of around 40 thousand inhabitants, Alem began to organize these celebrations in 1995 on a provincial basis. The original idea was to bring together religious communities around one of the most important events in the Christian liturgical calendar.

But as of December 2013, it acquired national status through a resolution of the Ministry of Tourism of the Nation, which gave it a new impetus in terms of the calendar of activities, the participation of renowned artists and the large number of visitors.

Every December, Alem is completely decorated with lights, ornaments and statues, to which are added the ornamentation elements of the public walks, which are elaborate throughout the year in permanent decoration workshops that this Festival has.

It is a true festive factory, where thousands of ornaments and unique pieces are made in the areas of design, sewing, welding, electricity, carpentry and painting, among many others.

Children and adults work to build each of the pieces that will later form part of an original set, while craftsmen and artists from different disciplines contribute to designing each of the creations.

Part of the floats and costumes are also manufactured there and are then exhibited during the parade offered to the public.

In turn, primary and secondary schools have the task of collecting disposable bottles for the construction of decorative elements.

With a surprising display of color and creativity, more than 20 floats and 500 people participate in the Float Parade in which the inhabitants of Alem recreate the birth of Jesus.

The little ones also have a place through the allegory of Santa Claus and “his process of adaptation to Misiones”, which is why he usually appears drinking mate among people.

The parade takes place in front of the National Christmas Festival theme park, and along four blocks, on which stands and stands are arranged for attendees.

In this sector, different scenes representing the birth of Jesus are presented, recreated on different continents. African, Asian, European and American nativity scenes are part of this colorful exhibition.

There is also the “Temple of Solomon”, which is recreated through a large model, with sculptures and infographics on the religious and architectural precepts of the time.

This thematic space shows the main events related in the Old Testament, including creation, Noah’s Ark, the Tower of Babel, Sodom and Gomorrah, the promise to Abraham, slavery in Egypt, the liberation of the people of Israel, Moses , the Tables of the Law and the prophets of God’s chosen people, among others.

It is a sector where scenes that refer to the birth of Jesus and the way of life of the Jewish people at that time are recreated.

Statues, infographics and different scenic elements allow us to travel in time to understand the historical and religious context of that time.

Within the theme park there are two spaces dedicated to the arrival of Santa Claus to the red land. First, visitors can tour their toy factory, with elves helping with this task.

And then a path leads to Santa’s house, where he receives letters from the kids and takes photos with them.

The Christmas Expo is also held at the fairgrounds: in various stands, merchants and artisans exhibit their products and services. And of course, there is no shortage of gastronomic stalls with roast meats, sausages, sweet breads, gingerbread cookies, puddings and frozen desserts, among many other traditional delicacies.

Within the framework of the National Coastal Christmas Festival, an “International Christmas Story Competition” is organized every year.

There is also a Christmas-themed pet parade, a meeting of sculptors from different places in Misiones who make allegorical works of Christmas.

With different sculpting and modeling techniques, sculptures are made based on previous sketches that are presented by the artists. These works are then exhibited in the Nativity Scenes of the World exhibition within the Christmas Festival theme park and a Chess Meeting.

At the Antique Car Exhibition, fans of this activity come to share this passion that attracts a large audience.

The Festival will last until Saturday, December 28 and Sunday, December 29, inclusive, when the venue will reopen at 4 p.m. and there will be Christmas Workshops, a children’s show, dances and live music.