The Major nativity scene: a Provençal Christmas in Arles

A village around the Nativity

The nativity scene fills a side aisle of the church with rocks, houses with colourful shutters and paths connecting the different levels of the setting. Arles Tourist Office describes a display of more than 700 santons, the traditional Provençal figurines. Within this village, a grotto shelters the Nativity; shepherds and their sheep approach the stable.

The Provençal nativity scene places the birth of Jesus in familiar surroundings. Around Mary, Joseph and the Child, villagers go about their work or make their way to the grotto with gifts. The trades, clothing and buildings tell the story of Provence alongside the Christmas story.

Trades and celebrations

Outside the houses, vegetables on stalls and in baskets evoke kitchen gardens and the market. Elsewhere, shepherds recall the place of flocks in the landscapes of Provence. Santons also preserve the memory of traditional trades: the bugadière washes clothes, while the knife grinder sharpens blades. These familiar figures give everyday work a place in the Christmas celebration.

The scenes also include village celebrations. In the Christmas 2018 photographs, dancers gather around a pole hung with ribbons, while a crowd fills the village square. Costumes, headdresses and gestures distinguish the santons, even in a large gathering.

A nativity scene since 1992

Philippe Féret has created the Major nativity scene since 1992. With help from family and friends, he devises new scenes each year and rearranges the village around the Nativity.

A historian by training, Philippe Féret has also written about the heritage of Notre-Dame-de-la-Major and Saint-Julien. The nativity scene reflects this attachment to the churches of Arles: it brings visitors into a building whose history is closely connected to that of its inhabitants.

The church of shepherds and Camargue horsemen

Notre-Dame-de-la-Major stands at the top of the Hauture hill. Rebuilt in the 12th century on the site of a Roman temple, it retains its Romanesque nave despite many later alterations. Bombing in 1944 weakened the structure; major consolidation and restoration work subsequently helped preserve the church.

The church long housed the brotherhood of Saint Véran, patron saint of shepherds, who were numerous in this district whose parish extended towards the Crau. Since the 19th century, it has also been the church of the Confrérie des Gardians, the Camargue horsemen’s brotherhood. Every 1 May, the riders come to honour Saint George and have their horses blessed outside the church.

More Christmas discoveries in Arles

You can continue through the streets around the amphitheatre and towards Place de la République. During the Christmas season, other nativity scenes are displayed in the town, notably at Saint-Trophime and Saint-Julien. The Salon international des santonniers introduces visitors to further creations, while the Conservatoire du santon provençal displays works by past and contemporary santon makers.

To explore further, the landscapes of the Camargue lie south of Arles. Towards the Alpilles, Daudet’s windmill in Fontvieille offers another walk a few kilometres from the town.

In Haute-Provence, the Christmas nativity scene in Banon depicts other landscapes and trades, from lavender distilling to charcoal burning on the Montagne de Lure.