La Navidad, 2006
Ok, so its almost Valentines Day and here I am just writing about Christmas…you can stop holding your breath now! Christmas was quite wonderful and will be, I’m sure, one of my fondest memories of these two years in Honduras. I was ready and looking forward to a true Honduran Christmas, but I never imagined what fun it could be. The Christmas celebration here is observed with family gatherings on Christmas Eve that last until midnight, when the birth of Jesus is celebrated with fireworks and dancing that continue into the early hours of Christmas Day…just as I imagine it was 2007 years ago.
The mayor and his wife invited me to their Christmas celebration…a dinner for all 8 brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, children, and grandchildren…about 45 in total…packed around tables outside in the patio…eating nacatamales (tamales as we know them)…on a cool evening in La Paz. It was as perfect as it sounds, and I brought homemade Christmas cookies, too! Then, at midnight, as the fireworks started to go off, I delivered baby Jesus to the nativity scene at the church with the mayor’s daughters, thus making me…yes, the Virgin Mary…I know, hard to believe…I could hardly believe it myself when I realized that this was my Christmas Eve duty.
At 1:00 am, when I would normally be in bed on Christmas Eve, listening eagerly for the sounds of Santa’s reindeer on the roof, we headed for the disco. It was quite the party in town. While most families were dancing in their homes, the younger generation of La Paz was out at the disco. I joined up with Patrick and some other volunteer friends of ours that were in town, and we stayed out dancing all night long. I think we all finally fell asleep when the clock struck 7 am.
Christmas day was quite tranquil compared to the night before. I had 3 of my closest friends – Jerome, Erin, and Raul over for Christmas dinner. We woke up around 11 am, ate my family’s traditional coffee cake (read about that in the next blog entry) and lounged around the house before fixing a simple Christmas dinner of roasted chicken, green beans, and mashed potatoes. Simple, but good…and a change from beans, tortillas, etc…In the evening we invited the mayor’s family over for dessert to finish off the day.
Looking back on this Christmas makes me very happy! Aside from being with my own family, my first Christmas away from home could not have been more perfect. Its what I imagine Christmas should be – no gaudy decorations or grandiose gifts, just time well spent with my closest friends here and a family that loves me like their own!
The mayor and his wife invited me to their Christmas celebration…a dinner for all 8 brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, children, and grandchildren…about 45 in total…packed around tables outside in the patio…eating nacatamales (tamales as we know them)…on a cool evening in La Paz. It was as perfect as it sounds, and I brought homemade Christmas cookies, too! Then, at midnight, as the fireworks started to go off, I delivered baby Jesus to the nativity scene at the church with the mayor’s daughters, thus making me…yes, the Virgin Mary…I know, hard to believe…I could hardly believe it myself when I realized that this was my Christmas Eve duty.
At 1:00 am, when I would normally be in bed on Christmas Eve, listening eagerly for the sounds of Santa’s reindeer on the roof, we headed for the disco. It was quite the party in town. While most families were dancing in their homes, the younger generation of La Paz was out at the disco. I joined up with Patrick and some other volunteer friends of ours that were in town, and we stayed out dancing all night long. I think we all finally fell asleep when the clock struck 7 am.
Christmas day was quite tranquil compared to the night before. I had 3 of my closest friends – Jerome, Erin, and Raul over for Christmas dinner. We woke up around 11 am, ate my family’s traditional coffee cake (read about that in the next blog entry) and lounged around the house before fixing a simple Christmas dinner of roasted chicken, green beans, and mashed potatoes. Simple, but good…and a change from beans, tortillas, etc…In the evening we invited the mayor’s family over for dessert to finish off the day.
Looking back on this Christmas makes me very happy! Aside from being with my own family, my first Christmas away from home could not have been more perfect. Its what I imagine Christmas should be – no gaudy decorations or grandiose gifts, just time well spent with my closest friends here and a family that loves me like their own!
posted by Honduras Girl @ 4:48 PM
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