La Navidad

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As is does every December, the holiday season smacked us in the face again, but this year, it lacked a certain winter chill. We missed celebrating with our family and friends in Los Angeles/Park City, New Jersey, and Chicago, but it was pretty incredible to experience Christmas in new part of the world. By the end of Christmas night, we found ourselves making a list of other places where we want to spend Christmas.

We started things North American style. Christmas cookies don’t seem to be a big tradition here, but Chris had to indulge in holiday baking so she had some friends over for a Christmas cookie-baking marathon. (Justin snuck off to the bar to watch football that day, but was happy to eat the results later that night). Jen brought family recipes. Susie brought extra cooking equipment. Heather brought music. And Karen brought her ace cookie-decorating 3-year-old Osian. We were finding sprinkles in our apartment for days.

We bought a Christmas tree and decked our apartment wall with stockings. As far as we can tell Christmas trees are common, but not the obligatory thing they are in the States. Fake trees seem to be the only option. So we tried to make up for the lack of pine scent with tree lights that played holiday music. Around town, there was a tree in the main square (Parque Calderon), but the nativity scenes seemed to be a much bigger deal. And in this overwhelmingly Catholic country, without concern for other faith celebrations, they go all out with the religious decor. There were big nativity scenes in the squares, small ones in the markets, a really tacky light-up one in the (otherwise classy) cathedral, and an enormous electric light one that resembled a float from the Disney Electrical Parade near the Rio Tomebamba.

And then there is the living nativity that is the parade on Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve is the big event in Cuenca. The central part of town was jam-packed, like we've never seen. Every store was open, yet every single Cuencano seemed to be out that day. Down the main street Gran Columbia ran an all-day parade (and we mean all-day) with kids dressed up in nativity and local festival costumes. For weeks, we had seen the angel and shepherd costumes in the store, and now we understood why. Businesses, neighborhoods, and various organizations sponsored floats with decorations and tossed out packages of cookies. Hundreds of horses marched by completely covered with traditional (Zhumir alcohol, fruit, chickens, cuy, and whole roasted pig) and not-so-traditional (Coca-Cola, potato chips, candy) food offerings. In the middle of all this would be riding a small child weighed down in traditional dress. We were told that at the end of the parade the food and treats are given to needy families for their Christmas celebrations. We watched part of the parade at street view with the busy crowd and then went up for an overhead view from our friend Ashley's balcony. Her apartment and holiday party were both very stylish.

The parade was still going (and going and going), but we had to scoot because Justin was helping out at the California Kitchen, where we enjoyed a yummy prime rib holiday supper.

On Christmas morning we found out that Santa does visit Ecuador and had filled our stockings with goodies. Chris went and helped out with a little cooking at our friend Miles and Heather's, while Justin discovered the true meaning of Christmas with a Mike Tyson marathon on TV. We caught a little bit of the NBA's opening day with at the Inca with Mike before heading back over to Miles and Heather's for more feasting. And then we got home just in time to catch the Bears v. Packers. Did you really think a few thousand miles or the Bears’ recent collapse would keep us from watching that?!?

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