The Nobenan Niñu is an important Christmas tradition for many CHamoru Catholics. It is held during the Christmas season with the last day ending on any of these feasts: Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, New Year or Three Kings Day. It is a generational devotion that is passed down primarily by female members in a family – it can also be considered a family promesa.

Preparing for the nobena involves the construction of a bilen or nativity, which recreates the setting of the stables where Jesus was born, and angels, shepherds, sheep and the Wise Men came to show their adoration. The bilen may consist of a simple scene covered by lumot or moss that the family would have gathered from the halomtåno’ and decorated with a few potted plants. Some families may create a more elaborate scene incorporating rolling hills, mountains, stars and other ornaments from the season and setting.

The Nobenan Niñu is very much focused on the children who are involved in the construction of the bilen and gathering of the materials to make it. It is a chance for them to learn songs and prayers within the Catholic tradition relevant for this time of the year. It also provides them a chance to be creative, and over the years bilen have sometimes been created with more local elements such as carved karabao, hilitai and ko’ko’ and other island animals, joining the sheep, cows and horses that are standard to the story.

The images in this post are from bilen created by CHamoru language students at the University of Guam as part of its annual Christmas celebration Puengen Minagof Nochebuena.