How Christmas is celebrated in my country

How Christmas is celebrated in my country?

Definitely yes and in what way! This is a time full of great joy for us Venezuelans who are known for being 1000% resilient. It may be that throughout the year we have gone through thousands of difficulties but when Christmas arrives it seems that we "pass the switch" and everything changes. color.

Venezuelans, for the most part, celebrate Christmas with the traditional Christmas dinner, gift exchanges, clothing premieres, among others, but prior to that there are many events, for example: beautiful decorations and lighting in strategic places in the city , realization of the "secret friend" in the workplace, painting the houses, among many other things that are particular to each family.

In my case, because I live far from my family nucleus (mother, brothers, nephews...) I must travel to my beautiful town from approximately December 23 to my mother's house, my sisters who live in other cities with their families as well. They travel and we meet there (prior to this we have organized ourselves with the ingredients for the Christmas dinner and other details by phone). I warn you that we are a very peculiar and fun family, therefore some photos that I will show you are out of the ordinary hahaha.

Rituals?

We do not carry out rituals per se, but rather we look for ways to do different things each year, for example, vary the place in the house to eat, invite other people outside our nucleus, although we also maintain many things of the tradition, for example, carry out our gift exchange. We do not worry much about the material but about the significant of the moment, they can be sweet, even a simple card made by hand; The idea is that everyone (even the little ones) can participate. Without a doubt, we enjoy this time since we guess who will give us a gift from the descriptions, that makes us laugh a lot.

Special dish for the time?

If we talk about food, this is where I get even more excited, since my mom prepares some delicious hallacas, I won't say like everyone else "the best hallacas are made by my mom" but I will say that they are scrumptious, they have the touch special thing that I love: the spiciness, few people make them like that. We accompany them with ham bread (it is not always possible due to the economy), salad and sometimes some meat. Last year my sister Marieli made chicha and it turned out super spectacular (we almost always drink juice or soda). Ahhh, I almost forgot: my mom loves to make cakes so she includes a traditional one or even auyama for this date.

Special memories?

Yes, this is where my heart wrinkles a bit because it makes me think of my grandmother, without a doubt everything tasted better with her, despite the extreme needs we had, we enjoyed Christmas from the small details that they gave us. But there are also very nice memories, each year brings her particularity. I remember one where we made a community nativity scene for the first time, I was barely 11 or 12 years old, we worked hard for about a month, and it turned out magnificent (it's a pity I don't have photos of it, they are all only in my memory).

I also remember that we were very excited to be able to buy "little stars" "7 colors" and many other small fireworks (even adults were excited as children) I do have photos of those that reflect a special joy; Perhaps some will say that it is nonsense, but I insist: small details feed the heart.

Another memory, a little more recent, that came to my mind was of a Christmas in which I didn't have much desire to decorate and suddenly some of my closest colleagues suggested that I go to my house to "put up the tree". It was one day very crazy, we had fun for a while..

Presents?

I don't have children but I have 10 nephews and 2 who are on the way whom I love with all my heart, they have added a lot to my life. In previous years, when the economy allowed me, I could bring a special gift for each one of them: seeing their excited faces was all I needed. I long for that moment to come again, although they will no longer be carts or dolls because they have grown, but without a doubt I will see that joy in their eyes again for receiving something from me....