¡Gracias por compartir! / Thanks for sharing!

“I love to read about Christmas traditions from around the world, so I thought about writing my own as well”.

Para leer este post en español, presiona aquí.

Christmas season has a special energy. You feel it even if you are down or sad, it’s undeniable.

The strongest feeling is sharing. Family gatherings and their traditions are very emotional. The main event: The birth of Jesus.

I love to read about Christmas traditions from around the world, so I thought about writing my own as well. I’d love to read yours!

Long ago I wrote about our New Year’s traditions, you can read about them here.

In my country, Ecuador, we have some very beautiful traditions, some are known worldwide and some are practiced mainly in South America.

The following are some of them:

The Christmas tree and Nativity set

The Christmas tree tradition started in Germany, in the first half of the VIII century. On the other hand, the Nativity set was a tradition created by San Francisco de Asís, on Christmas time in 1223 in Italy.

In Ecuador both traditions are very attached to our customs, most homes set their Christmas tree and Nativity. Usually, the Nativity pieces, especially baby Jesus, are very old, and passed on, generation to generation.

La Novena

La Novena is a catholic custom practiced in Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. It was created by Fray Fernando de Jesús Larrea, and published in 1743 in Colombia. Since then, some modifications were made, like the adding of traditional Christmas carols.

La Novena is about a set of prayers that we pray for 9 days before Christmas, in order to commemorate the 9 months previous to the birth of Jesus, and it ends with His birth in Bethlehem of Judaea. It starts on the 16^th and it ends on the 24^th of December.

It is a very emotional, joyful and family tradition; even though it is also celebrated in offices, neighborhoods, malls, churches and more.

When it’s a family gathering, they get together on a different house each night and the host shares some traditional snack, served with coffee or tea.

Misa de gallo and misa del Niño

Both are catholic; misa del gallo is celebrated before midnight on the 24^th, commemorating the birth of Jesus. This custom started in Rome in the V century.

As for misa del Niño, from December 25^th and most of January, Catholics can bring their baby Jesus to church, place them by the altar, and before the end of the mass, the priest blesses the babies. It is a very common tradition here. Some say, that if you don’t take your baby Jesus to mass, he will be resentful.

Christmas carols

Each country has its traditional Christmas carols, ours are also old and the recordings we find on social media have the same voices I remember when I was a kid, I love that. Some songs are: Dulce Jesús mío, Entre paja y el heno, Ya viene el niñito, Claveles y rosas among others. We usually sing them after La Novena and on Christmas Eve.

Food

It really depends on the region and the traditions of each family. In Quito, my city, the traditional Christmas Eve dinner is stuffed turkey or suckling pig, and sweet dishes like pristiños and buñuelos. Also panettone, which is a traditional European bread.

In other cities like Ambato, they eat tamales and pristiños; in Guayaquil, pork leg; in Manabí, sea food; in the Amazon, pork or chicken.

Secret Santa

This tradition is very common, we call it “amigo secreto”, and we play among family, friends, coworkers, etc. Usually the exchange of presents is after a couple of weeks of starting the game: you pick a piece of paper where is written the name of the person you have to give a gift to.

Christmas 2020 will definitely be different for everyone; social distancing is priority and that includes family gatherings. But we all know it’s temporary, so for now, we will follow these traditions by ourselves at home, until next time.

So, tell me, are your traditions quite different, or not?

Best wishes for you always, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Xoxo,

MJ

Other posts on my Blog:

New Year’s traditions in my family

6 advantages of traveling alone

Open letter to travelers, post COVID-19

Traveler soul: A personal story

¡Gracias por compartir! / Thanks for sharing!