Santa in the store windows starting in November? Si! The local department stores put the plastic Santa and the red ribbons in the window on November 1st. For those of you who would like to de-emphasize the material and put the Christ back into Christmas, our local pub agrees with you. Between the Happy Hour and smoking seating signs, Camahueto has hung a Nativity scene.
Cozy nights that start with a 5pm sunset? No! Sunset these days is 9:30pm. Total darkness is not until after 10pm. Roberto is complaining that he can't get to sleep because it is too light outside.
Are there Christmas trees? Define the term tree. Fir trees don't grow on Chiloé, and even if they did there are no boy scouts to sell them. There are however plastic trees. A survey of my students finds 50% have green trees and 50% have "snowy" white or silver trees. Tía Victoria has a silver white tree so we will be celebrating around simulated snow. As well on our trips to the Post Office to mail Christmas packages we have been able to gaze upon the Castro Correos' tree with lights.
What about Christmas food traditions like Christmas cookies, candy canes or Fruitcake? This being Chile, a big celebration calls for an asador (outdoor or over a fire roasted meat). And since it is springtime going on summer, Christmas means roast lamb. As for cookies? My students have only vaguely heard of gingerbread men (and we have yet to find molasses in the grocery store). I have yet to see anything remotely like a candy cane. As for fruitcake? It is a very good thing our friend Penny packaged and mailed us her annual gift of fruitcake. There is a Christmas bread that is a rough equivalent of panatone (if you are not Italian).
Do people decorate the outside of their houses? Down here, lights like the Christmas house of Novato http://rombeiro-christmas-house.com/ would mean just a big electric bill in the sunlight. Since it doesn't get dark till late, no one can really see lights. Gabi and Tía Margot did decorate the front of Tía Victoria's house this past Sunday. I'll let the Gringos in the audience draw their own comparisons.
In general, Christmas is celebrated, but with not nearly the same enthusiasm and social swirl as in the US. We've yet to be invited to a Christmas party nor have we heard of someone having one. School is wrapping up, 12th graders have the national University entrance exams tomorrow and the 25th is a day to spend with your family drinking wine while you watch the designated Tío turn the lamb on the spit.
Do people sing Christmas carols? So far, the only ones we've heard singing are the other 2–5-year-olds in Gabi's day care. So here's one:
"Oh the weather outside is frightful" Right now it is sunny – wait, it's raining now.
"But the fire is so delightful" Can we count the gas space heater?
"And since we've no place to go" True, we do enjoy Castro, and getting off Chiloé is a long bus ride.
"Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow." The last time it snowed in Castro, Carter was President. (There's a picture in our favorite restaurant - it was quite the big deal here!)
So we hope that your Christmas preparations are going well! (We see that temps in Boston today never got out of the 20s F.) We'll send more as our Christmas preparations (and hopefully everything else) heats up.
And to give you a bit of sunshine, here's a view from our 'commute'
I suppose it's too late to mail you some gingerbread men and candy canes? :-D
ReplyDeleteI do like Tia Victoria's tree very much.