Keeping our Christmas traditions and creating new ones.
Author: Camila Garcia Voelkl.
December is probably the month that best represents the cultural diversity of Latin countries, but also many of the elements that unify us. Something that characterizes every tradition is our search to be with family and close friends. Since most traditions come from the Catholic religion, there are many common elements that we use in our celebrations. The mangers (also known as pesebre, belen, portal, nacimiento), the Christmas carols, the Christmas tree, and Santa Claus.
However, the holidays vary according to each country. Maintaining our traditions is of the utmost importance and is part of our identity.
But what happens when you live in a country other than yours? Now, if we add to that a multicultural family (Dad and Mom from different countries) living in a third country, how do you gather traditions and create new ones?
My family, for example, is a mixture of three cultures: Colombian, Mexican, and the USA. Many would think that being Colombia and Mexico Latin American countries, their traditions are similar, however, this is not the case. For example, I grew up in Colombia with the belief that the one who sends the gifts at Christmas is baby Jesus and it is him to whom we wrote the letter and left it under the tree. The gifts arrive exactly at midnight between the 24th and the 25th. My husband, who is Mexican, is used to the wise men bringing gifts to the children in January, and his letter is addressed to the kings. Since we live in the United States, the tradition here is to write to Santa, who distributes the gifts, which are open until the 25th on Christmas Day.
The year my first daughter was born, we realized the importance of adapting traditions without losing our own, and it is not an easy task, especially if you want to keep the magic. Now, my daughters write to the baby Jesus who is very busy distributing gifts in countries like Colombia and who sends Santa Claus to distribute his gifts in the United States. They also write to the kings who bring them something in January, but we had to clarify that unfortunately, the kings do not reach all the houses in the United States (to avoid confusion with friends).
And this is just one example of many other situations. The mixture of traditions and how we have adapted greatly enriches our festivities.
How have you adapted your traditions? What cannot be missing from your December celebrations that are part of the traditions of your country?
Traditions and customs
“Usually when a family is formed, two existing families are merging, and that includes the combination of Christmas traditions from both sides. Therefore, the most moving and meaningful way to create your own celebration is to uphold the traditions that you love on each side of the family¨1
Creating new customs is not a difficult task and it is not about reinventing Christmas. Rather, we adopt those traditions that bring back fond memories of our childhood and pass them on to our children. We create new customs, such as playing Christmas music while we put together the Christmas tree together, going out to see the lighting in your city or reading a Christmas story near the tree. The most important thing is to create moments of coexistence with family or friends that are repeated over the years and generate pleasant memories that our children want to transmit to their children later.
How have you adapted your traditions? What custom cannot be absent from your December celebrations that are part of the traditions of your country?
Here we briefly tell you about some of the different traditions in Latin American countries, get to know them and begin to feel the spirit of the time.
Here we briefly tell you about some of the different traditions in Latin American countries, get to know them, and begin to feel the spirit of the time.
Acá les contamos brevemente sobre algunas de las diferentes tradiciones en países latinoamericanos, Conócelas y comienza a sentir el espíritu de la época.
