So, the Christmas season in Puerto Rico is longer than any I’ve experienced. Some building decorate even before Thanksgiving, and of course start selling Christmas items in October (ahem Walmart) but by and large the season begins right after Accion de Gracias. (Thanksgiving)
The mall decorates with very religious scenes. There was no live Santa there this year…but there were several nativity scenes.
Plazas really light up! And cities put up lit scenes by the streets.
Growing up in Wisconsin, the tales of snow and sleighs fit in perfectly with our winters. I asked my friend what they told Puerto Rican kids. Hardly any houses have chimneys. Santa has a magical key he uses to come in the front door!
The Three Kings are super huge here. My neighbor told me on January 6th kids put a shoebox full of grass under their beds for the camels, and the three kings being the kids gifts. This strikes me as a little odd, but I bet the kids love more gifts. Here’s more about it: http://gopuertorico.about.com/od/eventsandholidays/ht/Christmas.htm
Also, if you want to know how to hang lights on a palm tree without stabbing it with a nail, see my solution:
I read about the grass under the bed thing, too. They certainly have a lot of traditions, so cool!
I love reading about your experiences and the Puerto Rican culture. Can you recommend any Christmas songs in Spanish that we could look up? I found a book at the Sequoya Library book sale called Villancico Yaucano and thought of you guys, since I think (if I remember right… can’t find the book right now) the book was from Puerto Rico. Do you know if Villancico just means a “Christmas song” or is it a certain kind of Christmas song? Hope you have a merry Christmas!
Hi Jenny! Thanks for reading. I uploaded a couple of Spanish Christmas music albums. One is called “Navidad con Salsa” and another is “Asalto Navideno” I would just search around itunes then look them up at the library. I’ll ask my friends about Villancicos 🙂