A Colombian Christmas

Last night, we went to a unique cultural celebration at our son’s school, recognizing the beginning of the religious Christmas season.  It reminded me that I’d purposed to blog about the many unique cultural influences of the Christmas season here in Colombia, in addition to how our family adapts to two different cultures and celebrates Christmas.

The season is unofficially ushered in with fireworks and parties all night November 30, welcoming in the month of December.  A big event to mark the beginning of Christmas in Medellin is the lighting of the Christmas lights.  Medellin is known worldwide for its elaborate Christmas lights display, this year boasting 18 million LED lights!

Because of Colombia’s deep religious roots, the religious aspect of Christmas is very important.  The religious commencement of the season takes place on December 7, the “Day of Immaculate Conception,” also known as the “Day of Candles,” when the people light candles on the sidewalks and in the streets, ushering the way for the mother Mary to come.

December 16 marks the start of the “Christmas Novena,” which, in effect, means nine nights of prayers.  There are general prayers to pray each night, in addition to different specific prayers to pray each of the nine nights, concluding the 24^th of December, which is considered Christmas Day in Colombia.  These prayers include prayers to the Virgin Mary, to Joseph, and to the Baby Jesus.

Another important aspect of the religious celebration is the building of the Nativity.  Whether it be a small nativity displayed in a family home, or a neighborhood nativity displayed outside the local Catholic church, the familiar images of the nativity are added, one each night, concluding with the figure of Baby Jesus being added on December 24.

Typical, seasonal food is also a big part of the Christmas celebration.  Natilla is a dessert made with milk, cinnamon, corn starch, cloves, and panela, which is processed from sugar cane.  Buñuelos look like very large donut holes, but they are actually made with cheese and are quite salty.  They are very tasty if prepared well and eaten warm.  We’ve already eaten natilla and buñuelos twice this season!  Sancocho, a stew made with chicken or beef, along with potatoes, yuca, and plantain, is also very popular to eat this time of year.  People prepare it in a big stock pot over a fire on the sidewalk or on the curb.  Sancocho “kits” are actually sold along the streets the days leading up to Christmas, which include the stock pot (I would guess they hold about five gallons), ladles for stirring, and sticks to build the fire!

The Christmas celebration that begins on December 24, and includes the “Boy Jesus” bringing gifts to the children, usually goes all night long, into the wee hours of the morning.  December 25 is a very quiet day, as everyone sleeps in and rests up from nearly a month of celebrating.

But the celebrating isn’t over yet.  There’s still December 31^st!  But that’s another cultural experience all together!

Obviously, there are many cultural differences in a Colombian Christmas and an American Christmas!  So how do we celebrate?  We enjoy some of the Colombian traditions, yet we hold on to some of our American and family traditions.  We make sure we enjoy the 18 million lights at least once during the season, with our car windows rolled down, dressed in short-sleeve t-shirts and shorts (for the guys, at least), listening to Kenny G or Michael W. Smith Christmas music, buying popcorn and chuzos from venders off the street!  It’s always a little “different” with no snow and winter coats and boots, but this is one area where we’ve adapted very well!

We also enjoy some of the typical Christmas foods of Colombia, but we also make sure to enjoy our traditional Christmas dinner, including turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, etc.  Our first Christmas here eleven years ago, a turkey cost about $80.  Prices have gone down considerably, and last year I was able to get a free turkey with points I’d earned from my weekly grocery shopping!  (I’m working on points for this year’s bird!)

When we arrived eleven years ago, none of our churches gave any special emphasis to Christmas, feeling the need to separate themselves from the Catholic culture.  But now, more and more churches are including Christmas music and drama in their celebrations, seeing it as an opportunity to share the true reason for Christmas to their neighbors.  We typically add some of these events to our busy calendar and enjoy their creativity in presenting the Christmas story, yet another quite different cultural experience!

We usually enjoy a quiet Christmas Eve (December 24) as a family, sometimes attending a church service if one of our local churches has one.  Our small family of three usually exchanges gifts on Christmas morning.  Then, because our Colombian friends have already celebrated on the 24^th, we often invite a Colombian family over to share our typical Christmas Day turkey dinner, complete with the trimmings.

With all the differences in these two cultures in which we live, we’ve learned even more that it doesn’t really matter HOW we celebrate Christmas!  What’s most important is WHO we celebrate and WHY we celebrate!  JESUS is THE REASON for this beautiful season!