Source: Radio New Zealand
A team of volunteers have been working together to build the float, here are some of them. L-R: Adam Poloha, Ben Mai, Daphne Benitez, David Scott, Ben Bell, Tim Brian, Whiti Rameka Ke-Xin Li
Since 1933, Auckland’s Santa Parade on Queen Street has been a destination for festive crowds with its big floats and performances, and of course, the jolly old man in the red suit.
But Ben Mai thinks something has been missing.
“It was the Santa Parade 2024, and we realised that not only in 2024, but for many years, it had been a Christmas celebration without Christ. And we thought, maybe we can do something about that.”
Mai is the general manager at the Auckland Church Network, and for Christians like him, the most important part of Christmas is the story of their God becoming a baby in a manger.
“Christmas is about the birth of Jesus Christ. And he didn’t come as some king figure on a throne. He literally came as a baby, helpless, vulnerable, born in a stable surrounded by animals.”
While Mary, Joseph and angles will be enacted by volunteers, for health and safety, a doll will be representing baby Jesus. Ke-Xin Li
And so Mai set out on a mission to build a Christmas nativity float for 2025.
This Sunday, a float carrying angels, Mary, Joseph, and a baby Jesus doll, accompanied by a choir will be parading down Queen Street.
“There’s about 50 in the choir singing Christmas carols as they walk down Queen Street. There’ll be about 15 or 20 on the float or walking alongside the float on the day itself. Then there are others who are supporting them, their families who are releasing them to be part of this as well. And then of course, there’s many, many people from across different churches and others across Auckland who are chipping in to fund it as well. So all up, probably it’s almost several hundred people involved in it, which is exciting.”
The float is built with a mix of new and recycled materials, the angel wings are made using old billboards. Ke-Xin Li
It has taken a lot of fundraising and help from the community to make it happen.
A Givealittle page has been set up to collect donations, while more than $35,000 has been raised, the organisation is still a few thousand dollars short of covering the cost.
Mai said it costed $20,000 to enter a float into the parade – a charity rate they received from the organisers. Then the materials to build the float, hire a trailer and put together some small gifts for children will cost another $20,000.
People across Auckland are coming together to sponsor a nativity float to showcase the birth of Jesus. Ben Mai
Working with Mai to achieve the dream is Daniel Bell at Elim Christian Centre, who is leading the design and build of the float.
The float has been on his mind for months: “Most waking moments and half of my sleeping moments, dreaming it through as well.”
“We’re really trying to find that balance of sacred and humble and victorious but simple, and trying to capture all of that in the float. Lots of volunteers have been coming in, wanting to be involved in this. So it’s been great to see.”
Ben Mai from Auckland Church Network and Daniel Bell from Elim Christian Centre has been working together to make their dream nativity float a reality. Ke-Xin Li
Bell also has to pay attention to the measurements.
“The star is 3.6 metres at the base, so plus another 800 (centimetres). It’s just underneath the restriction of five metres on the float.”
The plywood structure shows the town of Bethlehem where all the rooms are full. There’s a detailed flock of angels wings, and above the manger sits a very bright star.
Daniel Bell’s team began designing and building the nativity float since June. Supplied
Bell is proud of all the upcycling work.
“The pads are actually old drum seats. We’ve been saving them over the years, not throwing them out. It’s that classic ‘oh I can’t throw that out that could be useful one day’, and the joy that a man finds when they find a use for something that everyone else told them to throw away, it’s delightful. They were perfect, we just needed these drum seats to support the angels on the float so they won’t fall off, and they can be comfortable for their trip. They came in handy in the end. Very, very excited about that.”
The padding to support angels on the float are made using old drum seats. Ke-Xin Li
But building a float is not easy. They’ve been working on it since June.
“So many different engineering obstacles to get through, trying to make a six-pointed star that has points coming out of every side, and having that tied together, and having it lit up, and having it transparent, but not breaking and how do we hang that. There’s been no end. And we’re still encountering little design challenges here and there as we do the final details. But that’s what makes the project fun, is to encounter those design obstacles and find creative solutions through it.”
And now, the star is alight, and the Christmas nativity float is ready to join this year’s Santa Parade.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
