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"Living Bethlehem"/ Around 300 volunteers stage the birth of Christ

2025-12-24 20:20:00, Qyteti im CNA

In the village of Hajmel in Vau Dejës, in the Christmas atmosphere, time seems to stand still. Among the wooden and straw huts, under the flames of the fireplaces and the noise of ancient tools, hundreds of volunteers bring the Living Bethlehem to life, while thousands of believers and visitors closely follow one of the most special religious rituals in northern Albania. For four hours, the parish of Hajmel is transformed into a large theatrical stage in the open air.

Locals, dressed in traditional clothing dating back to the period before the birth of Christ, perform crafts and biblical scenes that transport you directly to antiquity. Iron forging, pottery, flour milling, bread making, candle making, healing the sick and caring for children are just some of the scenes that unfold before the eyes of visitors.

"Living Bethlehem"/ Around 300 volunteers stage the birth of Christ

" I am a baker. I serve in Fushë Arrës as a Capuchin friar but I am from Germany. I have been here for 5 years and I cooperate with pleasure. There is a very beautiful atmosphere. Many visitors come and enjoy it. I also like the cooperation of the residents of Hajmel. In many places people do not cooperate and this is a great value ", said Capuchin Friar, Christian Albert.

" I am the miller and I supply the bakery with flour. This is my second year here, but it has been organized for 8 years. It is all voluntary and we as a village have managed to do it every year ," said Nikolin Ndoci.

For amateur actors who are residents of the area, celebrating Christmas in complete freedom is a spiritual fulfillment that was missing during communism. During the dictatorship, they show how Christmas was celebrated secretly…

" The Christmas holiday is magnificent for us. It adds a great spiritual wealth to us. In communism, we had a great desire to make laknori with nettles and we had to do it illegally. It was done secretly and we celebrated secretly because we were afraid. Mother would go out and collect nettles and with a little rice she would make laknori and we would spend the holiday joyfully, but the danger was present because we had to look ahead to see if anyone was spying on us ," said Ejll Topalli.

" Before, we celebrated it secretly, but in our souls faith has always been there and Jesus has always reigned in our hearts. Today it is a great pleasure that we celebrate it freely and enjoy the Living Bethlehem very much. For Christmas in communism, we had a small dinner but without telling anyone ," said Regina Matosha.

" In communism, we celebrated secretly. We made laknor with the ashes of the fire. We were children at that time and we waited behind the door to see when it was baking. We also acted as guards to see if the smell of laknor spread or not. There was a fear that there were spies coming behind the doors to eavesdrop. Mother would say be careful who you talk to because we celebrated when we were children or when she taught us the prayers she would put us under the blanket so that no one would hear. We didn't know anything about the church back then like children do now ," said Marije Ndoja.

" When we had Christmas, the Labor Party would take us to work and wouldn't even give us that day off. Once they took us to Dajç on the Buna Coast and wanted to provoke us whether or not we would cross the river to Montenegro. Sometimes they even tortured us just because they knew we were believers and that we had religion in our hearts ," said Prekë Perseku.

Not only Catholics are part of the Living Bethlehem. Olsi Cufi, a Muslim teacher, has joined the Living Bethlehem ritual, giving the message of peace, brotherhood and unity…

"Living Bethlehem"/ Around 300 volunteers stage the birth of Christ

" I have the role of a geometer here. I am of the Muslim faith and this is the fifth year that I have served here in the Living Bethlehem. It is a pleasure because I also serve as a volunteer teacher in Tarabosh and there I met the Capuchin friars who encouraged me to participate in this beautiful thing. We all celebrate holidays together. Every holiday is felt spiritually by everyone and we must always have unity and extend a hand to each other for cooperation ," declared Muslim believer Olsi Cufi.

In the 8 years that "Living Bethlehem" has been taking place, the number of visitors has increased significantly, say the organizers.

" This is the heart of the Living Bethlehem. The walk that visitors do is a preparation until they come here and see the Holy Family improvised. We have Jesus, a baby one and a half months old, so newborn. This is how we can contemplate the mystery of Christmas, there are angels who sing and give glory to God for the greatest gift that he has given us by giving us his son. There is a lot of sweetness, a lot of peace among the visitors, it is a spiritual feeling ," said Giusepe Lanzellotti.

" It is an organization of villagers who are generous in the Zadrima area. This was born in 2028 by a group of young people and a friar of ours. The Living Bethlehem has brought an innovation and serves for spiritual, cordial and fraternal unity ," said Gjon Shtjefni, Capuchin Friar of the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene.

" It is an experience to be enjoyed as every year we improve more and more in infrastructure, roles, costumes. It is challenging because the construction, the scenography and everything is different. There are 250 actors and this is the maximum because there are so many human resources. Every year the interest has increased. The first time there were nearly 3,000 visitors while last year there were nearly 30,000 on the three dates that the Living Bethlehem took place. The interest crosses the borders of Albania because the participation is all-Albanian, outside the political borders of today's Albania," said Markerit Hilaj, co-organizer.

The many visitors who come from all over Albania but also other Albanian-speaking countries say that the spiritual feeling they receive is indescribable...

" Very good, very beautiful. May God help us all. I come for the first time and everything is special. We enjoyed it very much," said one visitor.

" This is my first time here. We come from Tirana. A beautiful experience and it should become more famous. It was a living museum, a journey many years later. The hospitality of the actors was very good, a sweetness everywhere and we enjoyed and experienced it ," said another visitor.

"Something very beautiful and very well organized. Bravo to all the very loving, very funny and very generous villagers. A very beautiful memory, very liberating and exciting. It's the first time we've come ," declared a visitor.

"Something interesting. A very good organization. We liked the organization. A feeling we had never experienced before. It was the first time I came but we will come back again when it takes place," said the visitor.

The "Living Bethlehem" ritual relies entirely on volunteerism, where over 250 Catholic believers turn into amateur actors for a few hours, but with full dedication to the message conveyed by this performance. The tradition in Haimel began in 2018 and for 8 years has become an annual event that unites the community.

The residents of Hajmel, Nënshati, and Dheu i Lehtë prepare for months for this performance, building huts, sewing costumes, and assigning the roles they will play.

Under a cloudy December sky, between Lezha and Shkodra, the voices of the residents, the clatter of hammers on iron and the light of fires create a rare atmosphere, where religion, tradition and community naturally intertwine. “The Living Bethlehem” in Hajmel is not just a show, but an experience that restores the meaning of the birth of Christ and the spirit of Christmas in its simplest and most authentic form./CNA