Christmas in Argentina

In Argentina, Christmas is celebrated with an array of gifts, picnics, champagne, cakes, and fireworks at midnight. People display either live or plastic decorated trees in their houses, which they leave gifts under. The trees are decorated with lights and knick-knacks, some even have cotton to simulate snow. People attend religious services during most of Christmas day and then get together with their family and friends for Christmas dinner. Sometimes families plan picnics are barbeques because the whether is very nice.

The Nativity scene of Jesus in the manger is a common image associated with this celebration in Argentina and many places around the world, but in Argentina it is common to find this scene displayed in the home. Carols can also be heard from people singing door to door or by families congregated around a piano.

Typical foods for this celebration in Argentina include niños envuettas, suckling pig, and roast peacock. Niños envuettas is a dish with steak stuffed with meat, onions, hard-boiled eggs, and spices.

The Christmas celebrations end on January 6th, when children leave their shoes under a Christmas tree or next to their beds and await for the Magi to bring them gifts. They also leave water outside of the house for the horses of the Magi.


Sources:
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art26683.asp
http://www.travelsur.net/facts102.htm
http://www.christmascarnivals.com/aroundtheworld/argentina.html

Fiestas Patrias

The Fiestas Patrias is celebrated in Chile on September 18th to commemorate Chile’s independence from Spain. The next day is Armed Forces Day, which is also a national holiday. The festivities typically last for about a week and include a lot of drinking, dancing, Chilean food, parades and signs of patriotism, such as flag displays. Even though the Chileans celebrate their independence from Spain on this date, they did not officially gain independence until February 12, 1818; however, they still celebrate on this day because it was the first significant step towards Chile becoming an autonomous.
People celebrate the holiday in ramadas, which contain a dance floor and tables, as well as refreshment stands that offer traditional Chilean foods and alcoholic beverages. The ramadas are open air with thatched ceilings made from tree branches. Asados are also used to celebrate the holiday, where locals enjoy cooking food on open flames. Dance competitions are popular during the fiestas patrias; the most common dance is the cueca. Some typical foods are chichas, anticuchos, and empanadas.


Sources:

http://freshstartinchile.blogspot.com/2008/09/fiestas-patrias.html
http://www.joeskitchen.com/chile/culture/fiestaspatrias.htm
http://gosouthamerica.about.com/cs/southamerica/a/ChileDieciocho.htm

The Festival of Fruits and Flowers

The Festival of Fruits and Flowers is one the biggest Carnival celebration in Ecuador. The event takes place in Ambato, a highland city in the middle of the country. Ambato is known for its markets and year-long fruit production. However, the festival occurs in February, which is the peak of the fruit season. The celebration sprawls over the span of an entire month, and includes such festivities as bullfights, concerts, barrio parties, beauty pageants, and parades. The beauty pageant is televised, and posters of the finalists are displayed throughout the city. The winner becomes the Queen of Ambato.The winning poster can be viewed on the website of the municipality, with the motto “Ambato, alegría para el mundo” This olla podrida of events highlights the diverse cultural identity of Ecuador. The floats used in the parades are decorated with fruits and flowers and loaves of bread.

Originally, the festival was a way for the community to overcome the aftermath of an earthquake in 1949, which destroyed much of the city. During the first of the festival, there are parades and people drink a lot of peach flavored wine. Carnival is also a religious holiday, so each year, an outside mass is given the Sunday before Lent. A mural of Jesus is set up as well, composed entirely of flowers, fruit, and bread, and the blessing is known as Bendición de Flores, Frutas y Pan.


Sources:
http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/05-01/ecuadors-festival-of-fruits-and-flowers-ambato-ecuador.html
http://ecuador-travel.suite101.com/article.cfm/carnival_celebrations_in_ecuador
http://www.ecuador.com/blog/the-festival-of-fruit-and-flowers-in-ambato
http://www.ecuador.com/blog/the-festival-of-fruit-and-flowers-in-ambato

La Dia de Los Muertos

La Dia de Los Muertos is celebrated in Mexico on November 1st and 2nd and is a celebration of both life and death. On November 1st, the death of small children, los angelitos, is commemorated. The next day, November 2nd, is one the death of adults is remembered. This celebration represents a blend of cultures from both pre-Hispanic times in Mexico and the Roman Catholic traditions introduced into the society with the Spanish Conquest. The main symbol of the festival is the skull, which comes from the Aztec’s god of death.

During this celebration, people put out offerings (usually food) to attract the souls of the dead. Some families even make alters for the dead and place their offerings there along with pillows and blankets. Deceased loved ones are expected to visit the homes of their families during La Dia de Los Muertos, which is why people erect alters with food and other things to make the ghosts of their loved ones welcome. Other objects displayed on the altar for the spirits may include alcohol, cigarettes, and a washbasin and hand towel. People also decorate the graves of those they have lost.

Living adults drink a lot of alcohol for this celebration, particularly tequila, which may be used to toast the dead. Some of the delicacies of this celebration are el pan del muerto and Calabaza en Tacha.


Sources:
http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/muertos.html
http://www.inside-mexico.com/featuredead.htm
http://farstrider.net/Mexico/Muertos/index.htm
http://www.elmonterey.com/mexicanculture/festivals.aspx#diadelosmuertos

Inti Raymi Festival

The festival of Inti Raymi falls on June 24th in celebration of Wiracocha, the Incan sun god for the empire of Tawantinsuyu. Acted out by over 500 performers, it is one of the largest celebrations in South America and is located at Sacsayhuamán in Cusco. The celebration serves to commemorate the marriage between the Sun and the sons of the Sun, or in simple terms: humans.

The celebration falls on June 24th because it marks the winter solstice according to the Incan sundial, Pacha Unachaq. The Incans believed that the sun remains in the same spot for a bit before rising on this day, which is deemed the New Year for the Sun. Men and women show respect for their fallen empire and wear gold and silver, which serves to symbolize high status in their rich cultural heritage.

During this festival, people perform a toast called a chicha, from two different Keros (containers). One of these toasts is a tribute to the land and the gods, while the other honors the visitors. The high priest and Sapa Inca give an oration in Quechua, the ancient Incan language. The first time the Defense and Taking of the Fortress of Saqsaywaman was presented on stage was in 1928. In the past, llamas were sacrificed as a part of the festivities, but today the animal sacrifice is only acted out.

Another tradition of the festival is the start of the new fire. There was no fire allowed during this day. When it was time to start the new fire, it was kindled through a mirror that projected the rays of the sun on animal fur. The fire was then used to light other fires throughout the main square.


Sources:
http://www.cusco.net/articulos/intiraymi.htm

http://www.quechuanetwork.org/inti_raymi.cfm?lang=e

Barranquilla Carnival

Located on the northern Caribbean coast of Columbia, Barranquilla is the fourth largest city in Columbia. The Barranquilla carnival is one of the largest celebrations in South America. The festival boasts all types of native music and dancing with participants providing original dance styles and costumes. All types of musical instruments can be heard in the streets including: gaitas, porros, mpales, puyas, chandés, fandangos, cumbias, and fantásticos merecumbés.

The tradition of the Baranquilla carnival is thought to have originated when the Europeans brought their own traditions to South America, which then fused with native slave customs. Another theory is that the self-proclaimed president, General Carajo, started the tradition in 1903 when he began to celebrate in the middle of Ancha Street. Later, in 1983, the tradition of crowning a carnival queen began. After this, the carnival has continued to develop and fuse with other native customs into one large and prolonged celebration. Thus, Baranquilla has served as a preservation of native and non-native customs, and serves as a means of expressing Columbian heritage and diversity.

One of the highlights of the carnival is when Columbian dancers perform what is called the “Flower Battle”. This tradition again shows the unique heritage of Columbia, since it originated from an organized effort to replace war and violence with peace via flowers. Another main event is the Great Parade, during which viewers can witness African origin within the dances. The Dances of the Congo also serves to commemorate African origins, as it symbolizes the history of black forefathers and the eventual abolition of slavery in America. Finally, the carnival ends in what some may consider an extremely odd manner. The event is known as the “Burial of Joselito.” Joselito is thought to have been a coach driver who drank a bit too much one night, which was not usual for him. The natives mocked him and took him and his carriage to the cemetery in their besotted state. Cries to Joselito now end the Carnival every year.

Sources:

http://www.comunidadandina.org/ingles/tourism/greatest/i_barranquilla.htm

http://www.carnavaldebarranquilla.org/previo/default.html

La Quema Del Diablo

Every year on December 7th the Guatemalans celebrate La Quema del Diablo. Popular legends in Guatemala say that the devil hides under the beds and in the corners of people's homes bringing bad luck. In order to rid their homes of the devil, Guatemalan natives gather old boxes and trash and burn them in front of their homes (some people also burn Satan statues). Another means of celebration is by way of jumping over the bonfires. Still others use pinatas as well; after the pinata is broken it is thrown into the bonfire.
When locals are done burning the trash and devil statues, they thoroughly clean their homes with a straw broom and use holy water in order to deter evil spirits for the entire year.
La Quema del Diablo is part of the Christmas festivities in Guatemala, which begin with Advent. During Advent men dress up as devils and chase children in the streets. After Advent is over, La Quema del Diablo is celebrated to prepare for Fiesta de La Virgen de Inmaculada Concepción and the new year.

Although this is an extremely popular celebration rooted in tradition, it at times faces a bit of criticism. Some people think that the celebration of La Quema del Diablo should be modified because the burning of trash creates a great amount of toxins and is harmful to the environment. A few others harbor mixed feelings about the festivities of La Quema del Diablo because they view it as more of a pagan ritual than a Christian one.