The Sand Nativity Scene at Las Canteras beach is the flagship of dozens of Birth Scenes spread all around Gran Canaria.

Leonardo, Benoît, Marieke, Aleksei, Enguerrand, Dan, Vadim, Alexey and Jonay come from different countries around Europe. Yet, for several weeks they speak a single language: the language of sand. They are sculptors who between them have used some 2,000 tons of arid sand from Las Canteras beach, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, to build the greatest Nativity Scene of its kind in Continental Europe. Its sheer size however is by no means its only attraction, as they have also managed to express real emotion through this temporary structure, which leaves a permanent mark in the memories of those fortunate enough to get a close up of it.

A wholly different kind of Christmas is out there to be seen, heard and savoured in Gran Canaria.

Enigmatic news has just reached us from Gran Canaria. It appears that the Christmas Spirit has been spotted on the island. Several shocked testimonies confirm this to be the case. Some witnesses claim they have seen it moving around the dunes at the south, like a warm, gentle breeze that raises the sand pyramids. The story goes that here, Christmas is a far from cold affair, and people are throwing off the warm clothing they are dependent on at higher latitudes.