Christmas questions!
I've taken this from laralbagoury. I thought it would be fun to answer.
(IF YOU CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS)
How do you plan to celebrate this year?
We always celebrate as a family. This year we will have a Christmas lunch with my grandmother (from my dad's side of the family), and then we will probably go have dinner with my mom's side of the family. With my grandmother is usually just the traditional Christmas food and the exchange of gifts. But with my mom's family we always do a "posada" first, and that's always a lot of fun. And now that I'm with my boyfriend, we'll try to see each other, even if only for a little while.
What activities do people in your country usually do during Christmas?
We do "posadas" here in Mexico. Traditionally is one per day starting the 16th, and the last one is on the 24th. My family only does the one on the 24th. We all go out into the hallway (they live in an apartment building), one person from the family carries Joseph and Mary (statues form the nativity scene) at the front, and the rest of us have candles and we start chanting the Kyrie Elision (still in Latin, which we don't understand of course). Then we divide up the group. One half stays out in the hall with Joseph and Mary, and the other half go into the apartment and close the door. The idea is that the people outside ask for "posada" (lodgings), as in the way Joseph and Mary would have asked for when they traveled when she was pregnant and where looking for a place to rest. We have special chantings and everything. The people inside will answer back, two times they have to deny entrance, and on the third they let them in. And while the people inside are chanting, they also get all the presents out and put them under the tree, so that when the people who is out come in, the presents will be already there.
Then once inside (and mind you, this is done to time it so that by the time everyone is inside again, it'll be midnight, which is when supposedly baby Jesus is born), we put Mary and Joseph back in the nativity scene, along with all the baby Jesus from my family (which are about 10 of them). Then we pray. And then we put all the little baby Jesus in blankets and we all sing them to sleep, as a way to welcome them into the world. And after that, we can have dinner and exchange the presents. So as you can see, my mother's family is a very traditional Catholic one, and they like to preserve traditions, which I find lovely, because no one does traditional "posadas" anymore.
And on the next day, we get to break piñatas! Which are filled with fruits and candy. Traditionally, they are suppossed to be broken after all the chanting and prayers. But you would have start the "posada" earlier to have time to do that. My family decided to just leave it for the next day to make it easier.
Do you enjoy Christmas? What do you enjoy the most about it? Is there anything you don’t like about Christmas?
I do enjoy Christmas, I get to see all my family that doesn't live in the city, and I do like our traditions. They are so colorful and full of life. I do enjoy asking "posada", and I love decorating the Christmas tree, and exchanging gifts with my family. I don't like the food so much, or all the praying that happens in my mom's family. It's a lot and it takes a while.
What food do you eat during Christmas? Do you have any special recipes you only cook at this time of year?
We eat turkey, stuffing, potatoes, spaguetti, cod, romeritos (a mixture of plants, and shrimp and chilli). But I don't like that kind of food, save for the spaguetti and the potatoes, so recently I started preparing a special tuna pie that I normally only cook this time of the year. And that is my Christmas food.
What gifts have you bought, or are planning to buy, for your friends and family this Christmas?
I mostly like to give books. But I bought many different things, some T-shirts and Disney stuff for my family. Books for my boyfriend, and some mugs and other things for my friends. I give out candy too.
(IF YOU DON’T CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS)
What do you do during this time of the year?
And what is the biggest celebration in your country?
How do you celebrate?
Are there special meals and recipes that are only prepared during these special occasions?
So what about you guys? Do you celebrate Christmas? If so, how? Or what kind of celebrations do you have this time of the year, if any?
(IF YOU CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS)
How do you plan to celebrate this year?
We always celebrate as a family. This year we will have a Christmas lunch with my grandmother (from my dad's side of the family), and then we will probably go have dinner with my mom's side of the family. With my grandmother is usually just the traditional Christmas food and the exchange of gifts. But with my mom's family we always do a "posada" first, and that's always a lot of fun. And now that I'm with my boyfriend, we'll try to see each other, even if only for a little while.
What activities do people in your country usually do during Christmas?
We do "posadas" here in Mexico. Traditionally is one per day starting the 16th, and the last one is on the 24th. My family only does the one on the 24th. We all go out into the hallway (they live in an apartment building), one person from the family carries Joseph and Mary (statues form the nativity scene) at the front, and the rest of us have candles and we start chanting the Kyrie Elision (still in Latin, which we don't understand of course). Then we divide up the group. One half stays out in the hall with Joseph and Mary, and the other half go into the apartment and close the door. The idea is that the people outside ask for "posada" (lodgings), as in the way Joseph and Mary would have asked for when they traveled when she was pregnant and where looking for a place to rest. We have special chantings and everything. The people inside will answer back, two times they have to deny entrance, and on the third they let them in. And while the people inside are chanting, they also get all the presents out and put them under the tree, so that when the people who is out come in, the presents will be already there.
Then once inside (and mind you, this is done to time it so that by the time everyone is inside again, it'll be midnight, which is when supposedly baby Jesus is born), we put Mary and Joseph back in the nativity scene, along with all the baby Jesus from my family (which are about 10 of them). Then we pray. And then we put all the little baby Jesus in blankets and we all sing them to sleep, as a way to welcome them into the world. And after that, we can have dinner and exchange the presents. So as you can see, my mother's family is a very traditional Catholic one, and they like to preserve traditions, which I find lovely, because no one does traditional "posadas" anymore.
And on the next day, we get to break piñatas! Which are filled with fruits and candy. Traditionally, they are suppossed to be broken after all the chanting and prayers. But you would have start the "posada" earlier to have time to do that. My family decided to just leave it for the next day to make it easier.
Do you enjoy Christmas? What do you enjoy the most about it? Is there anything you don’t like about Christmas?
I do enjoy Christmas, I get to see all my family that doesn't live in the city, and I do like our traditions. They are so colorful and full of life. I do enjoy asking "posada", and I love decorating the Christmas tree, and exchanging gifts with my family. I don't like the food so much, or all the praying that happens in my mom's family. It's a lot and it takes a while.
What food do you eat during Christmas? Do you have any special recipes you only cook at this time of year?
We eat turkey, stuffing, potatoes, spaguetti, cod, romeritos (a mixture of plants, and shrimp and chilli). But I don't like that kind of food, save for the spaguetti and the potatoes, so recently I started preparing a special tuna pie that I normally only cook this time of the year. And that is my Christmas food.
What gifts have you bought, or are planning to buy, for your friends and family this Christmas?
I mostly like to give books. But I bought many different things, some T-shirts and Disney stuff for my family. Books for my boyfriend, and some mugs and other things for my friends. I give out candy too.
(IF YOU DON’T CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS)
What do you do during this time of the year?
And what is the biggest celebration in your country?
How do you celebrate?
Are there special meals and recipes that are only prepared during these special occasions?
So what about you guys? Do you celebrate Christmas? If so, how? Or what kind of celebrations do you have this time of the year, if any?