On December 8th, Day of the Virgin Mary, every family or institution sets up a nativity scene and gets ready for welcoming the faithful and celebrating the Coming of Baby Jesus. The nativity scenes remain in place until January 6th, Epiphany Day (Día de Reyes), parading before adults and children alike.
Children choose one of the many nativity scenes around the town based on their likes or commitment. From the 20th onwards, groups of children visit those houses holding the native scenes and dance or worship Baby Jesus to the sound of the music played by the “sikuri” bands. When they finish, they share a cup of hot chocolate offered by the host family. They form a group with distinguishing clothes, musicians and dances. Near the manger scene, it is customary to find a wooden flagpole of about 3 meters high with ribbons of different colors hanging from it. This is later used for the “ribbons dance.” Each child takes one ribbon and, accompanied by musicians playing and singing Christmas carols, they dance while the ribbons intertwine, creating beautiful and changing patterns. At night, children go to church to worship the manger scene, and they take turns to dance in different groups, based on age and dance difficulty.