Latin Christmas Traditions

Christmas is a time to celebrate and enjoy festivities. People get together and welcome the festival of Christmas. Parties, feasts and family reunions are organized with accompaniment of great Christmas music. Families start preparation for Christmas well in advance. Homes are cleaned and decorated with twigs of holly and mistletoe with evergreen wreaths. A Christmas tree is brought home and decorated with tinsel, paper flowers and ornaments. The homes and streets are lit up with festive Christmas lights. Christmas has universal appeal. Every nation has its own set of Christmas traditions. Latin American Christmas traditions are a combination of various cultures prevalent in that region.

Christmas in Latin America is a religious occasion. The entire holiday season is spent in enjoying the festive spirit. People come together and attend Christmas mass and other services in church. Christmas is known by various names like Navidad, Las Posadas and Dia de los Tres Reyes. The homes are decorated with bright flowers of multiple hues. The Christmas songs are part of Latin American Christmas celebration. Some of the traditions are old and have roots in Roman Catholicism. Nacimiento, the Christ child is the center of worship for all the Latin Americans during Christmas.

The Latin American culture is full of oral traditions. The songs and music played during Christmas is passed from one generation to other. This culture is a combination of Spanish and African cultures. Latin American Christmas celebration is incomplete without lights, food and music. Villancicos are village Christmas songs. They are sung in various places of countryside to announce the arrival of Christ child. The celebration begins from December 16 to December 24. These nine days people gather in church and attend the special prayers. The celebration reaches the height on Christmas Eve. On Christmas day, people visit each other and enjoy the feasts.

In Puerto Rico, carolers move from one house to other. A carol mass is held from December 16 to Christmas Eve. This mass is organized at 5.30 in the morning for nine days. In Guatemala, a religious procession moves on the streets during the nine days of Las Posadas. In this procession, figurines of Joseph and Mary are carried to the homes so that they get place to spend the night. Once, the procession reaches a home, carols are sung. In some Latin American countries, nativity scene is put up in homes and churches. The nativity scenes have figurines of infant Jesus with Joseph and Mary. They are surrounded with animals.

Christmas is the time for Latin American people to show their culture, art and traditions. People have parties on Christmas Eve that last till wee hours of Christmas days. The streets in the cities have fireworks, bright lights and decoration.