After school, we toured an old hacienda built in the 1600’s of one of the old mine owners with our new friend Gary, another Falcon student. Then we wandered into town to catch any festivities and have a bite to eat. We knew that our family celebration wouldn’t begin until 9 or 10pm, with a midnight meal, so some chile rellenos and tacos tied us over for the evening.
Throughout the town, we saw all kinds on nativity scenes called “nacimientos” set up in front of businesses, homes, companies… even the sewage treatment plant had a large nacimiento. These have been fun to observe because they are HUGE and full of, not only your typical barnyard animals, shepards, angels and wise men, but ANY kind of small figurine or toy worthy of observing the birth of the baby Jesus.
Roger sacked out for the evening and I went into the kitchen to visit and observe the evening preparations of Jesus and Fatima. The menu: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, bread, and lots of dessert. I guess tamales and atole are served in less affluent families. It was still hard to wrap my brain around the notion of eating dinner after midnight, but when the turkey went into the oven at 8:30 p.m. I decided to make a beer run to contribute to the pre-dinner festivities. My selection: Noche Buena, a seasonal dark available only in December.
About 9:30 p.m. extended family members arrived and we all crowded into the living room to visit and imbibe. A little mini bar was set up, snacks provided and we were enfolded into the conversation and treated like honored guests. Also joining us were Elaine, another student and housemate from Wisconsin, and her son Jesse who surprised her by “stopping by” for Christmas on his way from Mississippi to Argentina – on his motorcycle.
At the stroke of midnight, the Mexican traditions of Noche Buena began. Everyone stood up and exchanged hugs and said, “Felicidades”. Then the baby Jesus doll(s) were brought out and wrapped in decorative bandanas and we lined up 2 by 2 and swung them while we sang a cradle song and passed them up and down our little aisle. Next, everyone kissed the little Jesus dolls before laying them among the scene in the nacimiento. On to the table for dinner.
Toasts were made (I was asked to give one, where I thanked everyone for including us and told them how this would be a lifetime memory) then we enjoyed an excellent meal. Following dinner, we moved to the living room for some karaoke! I sang “Yesterday” in English, and Roger did “California Dreamin”. All song selections were in both English and Spanish and brought up from a program on a laptop with this crackly sound system. The microphone was passed around and by the end of the night, Roger was arm in arm with the hermonos belting out songs in Spanish he’s never heard before in his life.
The gift exchange was short and simple. It looked like family members drew names because each person had only one gift – even the kids. Men received a nice shirt and women received a bottle of perfume. Elaine and I both received a ceramic dish, one I will enjoy using for salsa.
We stayed up for more singing and conversation and finally hit the pillow around 4am – about the time I remember waking up to open presents on Christmas morning when I was a kid. We could only sleep in until 9:30, so got up and hiked around the Panoramica road around the city for a few hours before wandering in to el centro again. Most people pretty much just relax at home on this day.
Christmas in Mexico was certainly something I’ve wanted to experience, especially with a local family. Roger and I are pleased to have lucked out with such gracious hosts, however, we truly missed being with our family back home and participating in those traditions we have come to love. When we get home, I think I’m going to pick a snowy day, put on Christmas Music, bake, make a nice meal, watch “It’s a Wonderful Life” then read all the Christmas cards that we missed reading while we were here.
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