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COSTA RICA
Under the shade of a tree
Christmas celebrations in Costa Rica center around a foreign guest: the Christmas tree. This Anglo-Saxon tradition has grown permanent roots in the Christmas festivities of the Latin American nation. On Christmas morning, the entire family gathers around their tree in order to exchange and open gifts. Some use a real tree, while others prefer artificial ones. In the spirit of the holiday, many of the streets and houses are decorated with Colachos, or images of Santa Claus.
The Advent Wreath is another popular tradition. Every Sunday during Advent, each family adds a candle to their wreath. The wreath is shaped like a ring and made with cypress leaves, ribbons and potpourri. On the first Sunday of December, the wreaths are taken to any Catholic church to be blessed.
The popular Zapote festival enhances the season's party-like atmosphere in Costa Rica. Near downtown San Jose, there are rides, a ferris wheel, and food stands. The main attraction at the festival is the Costa Rican version of a very old Spanish and Mexican tradition: bullfighting.
The bullfight arena is an area measuring about 50 meters (165 feet) in diameter. Some 200 impromptu bullfighters run after the animals, which more often than not give them their share of trouble. Two bullfights are generally scheduled on Christmas day, one at 3 p.m. and the other at 9 p.m. During the afternoon, the bullfighters try their luck in a very Spanish-style fight. During the evening event, fireworks light up the sky in a rainbow of colors.
On December 26th, the celebration of El Tope begins. This celebration is a parade featuring horses, floats and carriages. The following day, the streets of Costa Rica are overtaken with the party of the spirit of Carnaval, a parade featuring floats, musical acts, clowns, antique automobiles, jugglers and allegorical themes. In recent years, the Municipality of San Jose has sponsored the Festival de la Luz as a prelude to the Carnaval.
The Tica Linda pageant is also a part of the end of year and New Year festivities. The winner of the pageant, referred to as the Tica, becomes the host for the bullfighting events and is thought of as the embodiment of the festivities.
One last celebration that takes place during the holiday season is the Festival Grano de Oro, a contest that gives awards to singers, bands and theater groups.
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EL SALVADOR
Christmas: Dancing and Oranges
If there are any New Year festivities with an exceptional party atmosphere, they are in El Salvador. Right before Christmas, people attend parades and go caroling. The carolers carry images of Joseph and Mary, much like they do in Guatemala.
Early in the month, parks and streets are packed with stands as well as with people selling fireworks for the coming festivities. During Christmas and New Year's Eve, children along with adults gather in front of their homes in the early afternoon and start lighting fireworks.
While fireworks light the sky above, the mouth-watering scents of an almost-ready Christmas meal fill the air inside many homes. The main dish is turkey, with a traditional sauce, rice and a salad. The more traditional families make chicken tamales, offered to many friends and relatives who come visit. Some of the fancier meals include desserts like torrejas and marquesote.
A staple in every Salvadoran Christmas table are grapes and apples, despite the fact that they are not regional fruits. These are offered to guests as a token of courtesy and are sent along to others who could not attend.
Later in the night, people start dancing until the midnight hour is near. At the stroke of midnight, everyone hugs and wishes one another luck and happiness. After this, a small representation of the Baby Jesus is placed on the nativity, which is normally under the Christmas tree. Before this is done, the oldest member of the family uses the image of the Baby to signal a blessing on everyone's forehead.
Next, they exchange and open their gifts as well as eat dinner. Many churches offer a midnight mass on Christmas Eve, called "Misa del Gallo," in order to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
The New Year's Eve festivities then follow. The traditions are very similar: people get together at a relative's home to dance and eat dinner, very much like they do on Christmas Eve.
At midnight, there are a variety of unique rituals that many practice. Some put three oranges under the bed; one is complete with its rind, a second one is peeled half-way and a third one is totally peeled. When the new year arrives, the people get down on their knees and pick one orange with their eyes closed. If they get the unpeeled orange, it is a good sign for the coming year, but if they pick one that is completely peeled, it signifies that the coming year will not be a good one.
Many also observe the tradition of the twelve grapes. Here, they eat one for every month of the year. In the past, some would make gestures around their body with an Indian hen egg in order to "get rid of evil spirits" left behind by the past year. Some would even go around the block carrying their suitcases, so the new year would bring them a lot of travel opportunities.
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