The old Nam Dinh province (now the new Ninh Binh province) is known as the land of churches, where there are hundreds of large and small churches with unique architecture. Therefore, as Christmas approaches, Catholics here are busy decorating their churches with pine trees, Santa Claus, grottoes... beautifully.
According to Lao Dong at Dong Cat parish church (Hai Quang commune, Ninh Binh), people are gathering to decorate items around the church. A large number of people are present here, each person has a job, some make a cave, some tie flags, some light up balloons... The sound of laughter is bustling.
Mr. Vu Van Duong, Head of Dong Cat Parish, said that the decoration work to prepare for Christmas this year is more special because this is the first year that the place has been officially raised from parish to parish. Since parishes became parishes, parishioners have been very happy and excited. The movement of activities in the parish is better and more vibrant than before. When the grotto was launched, many parishioners enthusiastically participated.
At Xuong Dien parish church (Hai Tien commune, Ninh Binh), the Christmas atmosphere is bustling everywhere. Near the church area, large and small grottos have been erected. The parishioners often use thousands of bags along with bamboo, lenses, and colored lights to make grottoes.
Sharing about the unique experience of making grottoes of Catholics, Mr. Dinh Xuan Thanh (in Hai Quang commune) said that to build a grotto, first parishioners will use bamboo and a channel to make a cave frame. The stone part is made from flat-packed shells, sewn into large tarpaulins, or each separate red one is flame-proofed to create rough surfaces and then stacked into stone forms.
After that, these shells are filled into the cave frame and sprayed with paint to create a real rock shape, then a decorative lighting system is installed to complete. Depending on the size of the grotto, the appropriate number of bags will be used.
Christmas is approaching, parishioners say they are temporarily putting aside their work to decorate their houses, alleys, churches and make beautiful grottos to commemorate the birth of Jesus. Up to now, the decoration of churches in Ninh Binh province has basically been completed for parishioners and tourists to visit and admire.
