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    13 December 2024 - SALT LAKE CITY
    Featured Stories

    Bethlehem Village Shares Christmas Message by São Paulo Brazil Temple Visitors’ Center

    Free festival of lights and music celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ

       
    Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. 1 / 2
         
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      This story appears here courtesy of TheChurchNews.com. It is not for use by other media.

      By Mary Richards, Church News

      The annual Vilazinha de Belem (Bethlehem Village, or Little Town of Bethlehem) has returned to the grounds next to the São Paulo Brazil Temple visitors’ center.

      Those who do not live in São Paulo can take a virtual tour at www.vilazinhadebelem.org.

      The theme is “Follow the Star,” and the outdoor village celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ with a festival of lights and music, bringing to life the magic of Christmas.

      The free event opened on December 6 with members of the Church’s Brazil Area Presidency and beloved Brazilian actor and comedian Renato Aragão (also known as Didi) helping switch on the almost 500,000 lights. Aragão is a household name in Brazil.

      Vilazinha-de-Belem
      Vilazinha-de-Belem
      A stable and Nativity scene are a part of the Bethlehem Village on the grounds of the São Paulo Temple and visitors’ center on December 6, 2024. Photo by James Welch, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.
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      The public can walk through the grounds and see the indoor Nativities from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays through January 5, 2025. The lights are on every night beginning at 6 p.m., and missionaries, storytellers and guides are there to share more. Concerts are at 6 p.m., 7:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

      Those who do not live in São Paulo can take a virtual tour at www.vilazinhadebelem.org.

      Senior couple missionaries Elder James Welch and Sister Deanne Welch, originally from Palo Alto, California, were called on a mission to help augment the event this year.

      Sister Welch located more than 75 different Nativities from around the world, lent by local members, missionaries and friends of the Church.

      Elder Welch is a professional organist and helped organize 45 concerts with local members, wards, stakes, families, missionaries, soloists and other groups.

      Vilazinha-de-Belem
      Vilazinha-de-Belem
      A choir prepares to sing at the Bethlehem Village on the grounds of the São Paulo Brazil Temple Visitors' Center the weekend of December 7-8, 2024. Photo by James Welch, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.
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