I have never experienced your typical American Christmas. With its cold weather and classic Christmas music and warm, cozy vibes. Well the warm part is the only thing I can relate to… just a different type of warm. My Caribbean Christmas, while it has some similarities to the American Christmas, has quite its differences. I thought it would be nice to share how even though we both celebrate the same thing, different cultures have different traditions.
Every December around the holidays I have the privilege of going back home to Puerto Rico. A very hot tropical place. It’s honestly pretty nice to get away from the cold. While I love the way Americans celebrate Christmas, there’s no place like the holidays back home. I swear we have the longest holidays. Like in the U.S. majority of the people start decorating right after Halloween. After that the celebration begins.
While Christmas is supposed to be a ‘religious’ holiday, a lot of people here in the U.S. celebrate it regardless of their religious beliefs, while in comparison I believe (not saying all) Puerto Ricans celebrate Christmas for its religious beliefs (the day Jesus Christ was born.) Due to that a lot of Latinos celebrate the day before, also known as Noche Buena. During this day we eat traditional foods such as lechon, pasteles, arroz con gandules, and of course many drinks such as coquito and pitorro.
Puerto Ricans also have their own version of Christmas caroling. We call it parrandas which is a big party where we eat, drink, and play live music. While it’s at the house, we also visit our neighbors and other towns. Playing classic Puerto Rican instruments such as the güiro, guitar, bongos, and maracas. This is easily one of my favorite parts of the holidays.
Since we’re on a small island a lot of people tend to spend a lot of time at the beach, especially after New Year’s Eve. But what makes our holidays so special is that we don’t stop after Christmas, we celebrate Three Kings Day on the 6th of Januaryand FINALLY end with Calle San Sebastian.
Calle San Sebastian takes place usually at the end of January. This year it will be January 15th through the 18th. The celebration takes place in Old San Juan where many traditional parades, live music, dancing, and artisan crafts happen. It’s always a good time with friends and family. And this is something that I 100% want my friends to experience with me.
Being able to experience my Caribbean Christmas has made me grateful for my culture and traditions. But that goes without saying that one day I will experience a classic Christmas in the U.S. with its own typical traditions. And hopefully this article makes you have a Caribbean Christmas somewhere on the islands.