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Nativity scenes light up Slovenian 'Christmas village'
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A local resident takes a picture of a nativity scene created by the villagers in Banovci, northeastern Slovenia, on December 21, 2021. (AFP/Jure Makovec)
Dozens of nativity scenes light up the village of Banovci in northeastern Slovenia, drawing throngs of visitors every December.
This year, more than 30 homes in the "Christmas village" near the border with Hungary have created creches using materials including wood, beeswax, pastry and rope, displayed on their front porches and yards.
"The point we want to make is that the doors of our houses here are open, and we want visitors to enter our yards, see the scenes and meet us," said Bojan Leser, who leads tours of the spectacle that attracts thousands of visitors each year to the village of around 200 residents.
"It's great to see how the whole village comes together to make the Christmas village... I love these decorations," a pensioner in her early sixties from a town in northwestern Slovenia told AFP while visiting with friends.
The idea was born 22 years ago when Janez Skuhala, who as a child served as an altar boy at a nearby Salesian church, decided that he needed more space for the nativity scenes he had been making every year for his family.
The year after he set up his creche on the front porch, two other families followed suit, Skuhala told AFP.
In time, most of the village joined in, reaching a peak in 2019.
Because of Covid restrictions, the villagers are no longer allowed to offer food and drink to visitors, and participation has declined.
But Skuhala and his neighbours are committed to the tradition.
"Everything has stopped, but we persist with the show, and we will continue, at least as long as I am here," Skuhala said.
