It’s “grande.” Even “gordo.” “Huge” by any definition.

That’s the first impression visitors may have of the giant nativity scene in the home of Bertha Gonzalez, 704 Second Ave. S.W.

The nativity scene lines a wall of the dining room of the Gonzalez home. From floor to ceiling in a forest of spruce limbs mounted on several levels. The story of the birth of Jesus Christ is depicted.

Next to it is a modern Christmas scene of a village decorated for the season.

Two worlds combine for one reason: a birth in a barn long ago.

There are lights to illuminate the scenes. Even a star overhead.

It is unlikely there is a larger, more detailed nativity scene anywhere than that of the Gonzalez family.

Devoutly Roman Catholic, the family’s Christmas celebration follows a significant tradition each December in the lives of Mexican Catholics.

The Gonzalez family built their altar to Our Lady of Guadeloupe in early December, when Hispanics believe something miraculous happened.

The Reverend Ricardo Crespo, associate priest at Queen of Angels Catholic Church, Austin — the Gonzalez family’s church — visited the southwest Austin home to bless the altar/nativity scene and a centuries old ritual took place in the home.

‘Our Lady from Heaven’

On Dec. 12, 1531, the Virgin of Guadeloupe is said to have appeared to Juan Diego on Tepeyac Hill, bridging two worlds, that of the Aztec, who saw her, and that of the Spanish conquerors, who now ruled his land. She has since become the patron and symbol of Mexico, a country born of this fusion of cultures.

After the feast day of Dec. 12, the Gonzalez family, like so many others around the world, started building the family’s nativity scene.

The couple’s daughter, Claudia Gutierrez, and her two sisters, Estrella and Maria, helped their mother construct the one-of-a-kind nativity scene.

“My mother started making nativity scenes in her family in 1976,” Gutierrez said. “She has spent the last five years making it this size.

“There are figures or pieces that have been given to my mom from other relatives through the years,” Gutierrez said. “Every year she gets more pieces and it gets bigger and bigger.”

The passing of the old year and the arrival of the new signals, among other things, the end of the Christmas season.

The Gonzalez family’s nativity scene will come down this week.

A tradition

The nativity scene ritual comes with it own rules.

Each December, when Christians prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, nativity scenes are displayed in homes and on front lawns.

Each figure in a nativity scene has meaning, and the manner in which they are arranged will contribute to the significance and visual appeal of a nativity scene.

Nativity sets vary greatly in size and number of pieces, but there are still general rules that can be followed when arranging a nativity scene.

According to accepted guidelines, a standard nativity set has seven pieces, but nativity scenes can always be enhanced with new figures. Secondary nativity figures are best positioned as onlookers outside the circle of main characters mentioned in the Biblical nativity stories of Matthew and Luke.

The Gonzalez family has observed their own guidelines for years.

“It’s not a strict rule, but it is a representation of what happened,” Gutierrez said. “For example, the mule and the cow have to be inside the barn, because they are the ones who gave heat to the newborn child.

“The Three Kings are positioned further away, because they came to the barn after the shepherds,” she said. “As Christmas Day draws closer, we move the Three Kings closer to the barn where the baby was born.”

More than 50 people attended the Gonzalez family’s Christmas celebration in December and celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ.

“They came from all over. Worthington and Luverne. Sometimes people from Mexico come, too,” Gutierrez said.

Christmas is the most important holiday celebrated by the family for the same reason it is so popular in other cultures.

“It’s the time when everybody, old and young, comes together to celebrate,” Gutierrez said. ‘It’s about family.”

On Christmas Eve the family members stop the celebration to pray, continuing a part of the tradition that dates back to the earliest observances of the appearance of the “Lady from Heaven,” or Our Lady of Guadeloupe.

This Tuesday, the day the Three Kings arrived in Bethlehem to see the new baby, the Gonzalez family will begin taking down their nativity scene.

Prayers will continue before the altar of Our Lady of Guadeloupe until Feb. 2.

Then, all the precious pieces will be carefully stored in boxes until the family tradition is renewed next December.