Navidad en Bolivia

In Bolivia Christmas continues to be deeply religious. Most families set up a “pesebre” (nativity scene) in their homes and churches usually have very large ones somewhere outside the main door. The word pesebre means"stable". Some Nativity scenes (nacimientos), especially at churches, consist of animals, shepherds, angels, a manger and baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the Three Kings (Wisemen) placed atop a bed of moss or straw or inside a stable. Others use real sheep, donkeys, and people.

Others nativity scenes, although believed to be originally a Peruvian art form, are very brightly painted plaster boxes called "retablos". They are two levels - Mary, Joseph and the Wisemen, shepherds and animals are placed in the lower level, and the baby Jesus is placed in a manger in the top level. Some of these painted mangers have tiny toys and ornaments as well, as gifts to the baby Jesus.

Decorating the outside of one's house with lights is not customary here, nor is caroling from house to house. On Christmas Eve church bells ring to call families to attend the “Misa del Gallo” a Catholic mass that takes place quite late at night, usually at midnight, and lasts possibly into the early morning (which explains the name: Mass of the Rooster).

Families gather to feast together at midnight after Mass, others on Christmas Day. As these holidays takes place during the hottest time of year (summer in the Southern Hemisphere) meals usually feature picana, a soup made of chicken, beef, corn and spices that is eaten traditionally on Christmas. The table is also set with salads, roast pork (lechón) or roast beef, and tropical fruit. Many people eat turkey at this time, similar to US Thanksgiving turkeys, although none of the other foods that accompany it are similar to an American Thanksgiving meal.

At midnight the families toast with champagne or wine and eat taffy-filled wafer cookies called "turrón". Others drink a beverage similar to eggnog called cola de mono. Children sing "villancicos" - holiday songs. On Christmas morning it is customary to drink hot chocolate and eat buñuelos (a type of pastry drizzled with

Navidad en Bolivia

syrup).

The “canastón” is another important Christmas tradition. A large gift basket, it is given by employers to their employees on the day prior to taking their vacation. The canastón is a simple, but usually large, basket (sometimes a plastic washtub is used), filled with the basic food staples such as ketchup and mustard, bread, jam, crackers and cookies, sugar, rice, flour, and sometimes chocolates or candy. These canastones are almost never decorated, except for a clear plastic covering closed off with a large red bow. A “panetón” (a delicious traditional holiday sweetbread with raisins and nuts) and a bottle of “cidra” (sparkling cider, not alcoholic) are included.

It used to be that families and friends did not exchange Christmas gifts. In Bolivia, gifts were given to children on Epiphany on January 6th, Día de los Reyes (Day of the Kings or Wisemen). Children placed their shoes outside the door with letters to the Wisemen who fill them with candy and pastries at night. Today most people have taken on the European and North American traditions of exchanging gifts at Christmas, although most do this after Christmas Eve dinner, around midnight, not on Christmas morning.

Perhaps the most unusual thing about Christmas in Bolivia is that exactly at midnight on Christmas Eve, all through the city fireworks are set off. It sounds more like the 4th of July or New Year's Eve in the U.S. and can last for up to an hour. The sky also lights up with tiny sticks of dynamite, slightly larger (and

probably more dangerous) than the more traditional tiny firecrackers. There are no laws prohibiting the private sale of fireworks in Bolivia so imagine thousands of families all lighting up fireworks at the same time at midnight.

Many families are beginning to adopt the Christmas traditions of the American and European cultures (such as eating turkey and stuffing, decorating a tree or the exterior of the house, or exchanging an abundance of Christmas gifts).