Those of you who know me know I am not much for the Christmas holiday. That said, however, I do feel the joyous spirit of the holiday, especially here, where people gather in big groups of family and friends and party till the wee hours.
Christmas starts even earlier here than in the US. They start putting Christmas decorations and gift items in the stores in September. That doesn’t stop the last minute insanity, though, as my recent trip to the grocery store can attest — not a parking spot in the entire lot! Yet the people here aren’t as shopping crazy as we Americans. People tend to give simpler gifts and treasure their time together.
The entire month of December is filled with fun. There is Posada, which is celebrated between the 16th and 24th, and includes “ponche” — a punch made with various fruits, juices and cinnamon and, occasionally, a bit of rum or other alcohol, and lots of local foods. Very yummy! Of course, for the kids, there is the piñata filled with candies. The most significant part of the evening is the singing of the Posada litany representing Mary & Joseph’s search for a place to give birth. The song has two parts: one represents the couple searching and the other the innkeepers who turn them away until at last they find refuge in a stable.
I spent my “posada” with my students and friends from Queretaro at the beach in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, early in December. The company they work for treats them to a long weekend for the holidays and includes me — their English teacher for the past 4 years. The owners have been students and friends of mine for even longer and Lyn and I treasure their friendship.
The weekend was quite an adventure, and one that I will tell about in a separate post so as not to detract from this holiday missive!
Here in Merida, the city center is lit up beautifully. It is already a gorgeous city with lots of colonial houses and buildings. The main boulevard — Paseo Montejo — is perhaps the most popular area as many of the homes have been converted into restaurants, shops and museums.
A few weeks back, my Thursday club friends and I went down for a bite to eat at Casa T’hó. I wasn’t impressed with the food (I had a tuna melt), but the location was gorgeous!
There is always a lot to do here, but this time of year is just amazing. There are free concerts, including a candlelight celebration, public nativities on just about every roundabout, and, of course, you can find a Santa lap to sit on if that is your thing.
All-in-all, Merida makes Christmas much more joyous for me, aka the Grinch!
Feliz Navidad!
P.S. You may be curious about the pic I picked for this post. This photo is from the posada trip to the beach. I was just sitting there when this stray dog came over and put his head on my legs. He was very sweet!
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