There is an angel who gets entangled in the branches of a tree year after year.
He is stuck there for a couple of weeks until he is taken down by the people assigned to that job.
I saw him for the first time through a picture, but finding myself in that world of lights, I convinced myself that it was really so.
There is no more room for doubt - people hang and unhook angels from trees as their needs arise.
But maybe it was just an illusion because as this sign suggests, this is a Dreamland. My feet stepped here less than two months ago, a little less... while Christmas and New Year's decorations and activities in the squares of Spanish cities were still very much current.
Is it just that time predetermined when we can walk in dreams, and later reality has to come, like this small crack opening the space for the black sky, to escape from the world of light, shine and fantasy?
I can imagine that children were asking their parents that evening to stay there for more time.
Just a little more, give me a few more laps where our heads would spin, where our legs would try to step without control, thrown off balance after so many merry-go-round rides...
Sensible parents would know where to set the limit and maybe even offer different activities. Because they were not missing.
The whole square was full of stalls - handicrafts, sweets, and food were on offer.
Let's go there.
There were so many people there and everyone was on the move. Only two statues stood calmly at the entrance to the town hall. They are the two guardians of the city, an angel and a saint.
An additional attraction of those weeks was also a visit to the nativity scene. It was open every day from 11 am to 2 pm, and after a break, the afternoon's opening hours were from 4 pm to 9 pm. I went a bit after 4 pm and it was so dark already.
You will see that it was full of people. There was even a quite long queue to enter... Adults, children (maybe those from the merry-go-round) and tourists from other cities. Everyone wanted to visit the nativity scene as it is a tradition here.
A Roman legionary, to greet the visitors at the entrance:
This birth scene was in the square in front of the Basilica del Pilar in Zaragoza.
As I said, it is a strong tradition in Spain that wants to remember the real reason behind the celebration of Christmas - it is the custom of commemorating the birth of Jesus.
Scenes from everyday life:
The scene of the birth and the arrival of the three wise men:
Walking in a Dreamland, among the stalls of a street market and by the sets displayed in this nativity scene was certainly not just a dream.
This post is proof of that, though it comes with almost two months of delay.
But this is a minor detail.
We just have to remember that the poor angel also got stuck in the tree for some weeks.
