Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I know the holiday season is over, but I couldn't let January go by without posting about my first Christmas and New Year in Mexico.
I made the difficult decision not to go home for Christmas this year for many reasons, one of the principal ones being that I didn't want an interruption in my first ever abroad experience that might make it difficult to return (and, ya know, flight expenses). Earlier in November, a coworker of mine in the language department at UPAM, Luis, invited me to spend Christmas with his family. I was touched, and though I had already received more than a handful of invitations from various friends and students, Luis was pretty set on my American presence at Christmas (haha), so I took his invitation. I'm glad I did!
The week before, I was recovering from what I think was the flu (blegh) and spent the week in my empty apartment with my roommates having already flown home to their respective states. I missed my childhood Little Tikes nativity scene that had been present at every Christmas since I was a toddler, so I made some homemade clay out of kitchen ingredients, formed and painted it, and crafted a cute little manger of my own.
I also wanted to bring something to Christmas, and my grandma Sylvia's molasses cookies were a major hit with my students and friends (who are not used to clove in desserts) when I made them for Halloween, so I made them again for Christmas, but I added a bit more flour and made them into circles. I also made some of the dough into gingerbread men for each member of my tutora's family, who live right next door. I also whipped up a cream cheese frosting which I dyed different holiday colors to decorate. It took a good amount of time, but I did everything over the course of a few days and watched Christmas movies the entire time.
Flash forward to Christmas Eve (I should not that Christmas is almost exclusively celebrated in Mexico on the 24th and not the 25th): Luis picks me up and I meet for the first time his beautiful wife, Diana. We head over to Luis's parents' house for the first meal of the evening. We have traditional Mexican Christmas food: chipotle relleno, which is a chipotle pepper fried and stuffed, usually with cheese. I LOVE it. We also had pierna, usually pork in a really delicious, dark sauce, almost like barbeque sauce but much more sophisticated and Mexican-tasting (I guess that's obvious). Ensalada de manzana is a salad of apples and occasionally other fruits, raisins, and nuts mixed with cream and/or yogurt that is served with or after dinner. There is always, of course, bolillos or tortas (bread buns) available to accompany the main dishes. After lunch (or dinner #1?) we had delicious flan and toasted to the baby Jesus with sidra, or a cider very much like an apple-y wine. The family wouldn't let me leave without trying some of their ponche, which I've mentioned before--a delicious hot "punch" of fruits and sugar cane served at this time of year.
I got to watch Luis's family exchange gifts in what we would call a Secret Santa exchange. In Mexico, Christmas gifts are usually clothes. I did not participate in the exchange, but Luis's wife picked out a really nice, warm scarf for me, and his niece made me a little gift bag with the choker necklace I ended up wearing that night. I was touched!
We hit the road again around 6:30 or so and headed to Xoxla to have the Christmas Eve celebration with Diana's family. Her family was also very welcoming and showed me to Diana's brother's room which had been designated as my room for the night. The festivities wouldn't start until about 9 PM, so I took a bit of a nap (I was still dealing with post-flu fatigue) and then came downstairs to begin the celebration.
Diana's grandma, uncles, and aunts live in the houses adjacent to hers, so we all met up outside to begin the recorrido to all the nacimientos (Nativity scenes) in the houses. We said Our Fathers and Hail Marys and many family members were holding figures of baby Jesus wrapped in beautiful clothes and even adorned with special decorations. At each nacimiento, we sang a lullaby to the baby Jesus, "A lo rorro niño" and placed the corresponding baby Jesus to its desginated manger. It was beautiful to see everyone faithfully participating in this tradition. Below are images from one of the most gorgeous of the nacimientos and a video of the lullaby-singing.
After this, we all sat down for the meal. We had the same dishes I had at Luis's parents house, plus camarones a la diabla, which is a spicy shrimp dish. The spice wasn't too intense for me, but I had to get used to pulling the shrimp apart and ripping off the shells. I ate a lot and it was delicious. This time, I had cidra AND tequila and even a touch of vodka. Mixed with soda, of course...
Me with Luis and Diana! I look like a rebelious 13-year-old, but it was fun.
I played Uno with Diana's siblings and cousins. I love playing games in Spanish because I learn words or phrases that I don't typically use in conversation.
At midnight, everyone gives each other a big hug to celebrate Christmas (and when I say everyone, I mean EVERYONE gets hugged by EVERYONE. I hugged a lot of strangers that night and I loved it.) Around 1 AM we got tired, so Luis, Diana, and I snuck away from the party and went to bed. The next day I didn't wake up until about 10:45, which is super late for me. We went to Diana's mom's healthy milkshake shop for a refreshing treat and then returned to Diana's grandmother's house for el recalentado. This is what December 25th is all about in Mexico: reheated leftovers. I couldn't stomach much, but I did have some ponche and ensalada de manzana before Luis and Diana took me home.
New Year's Eve in Mexico is very similar to Christmas: dinner and celebration on the 31st, recalentado on the 1st. For New Year's Eve, I accompanied my friend Anna, who is a researcher on Fulbright here in Puebla, to her profesora's house for a family celebration. Soon after we arrived, we went outside to join several family members (who I believe are also neighbors) to break the piñatas. There was a little chant everyone called out each time someone had a turn to let them know when time was up. The little ones had the most fun with it, but the adults had a ball, too.
Anna almost took out someone with her swing! But she did get candy out, so everyone benefited.
With la profesora's husband, daughter, siblings and mother, we had a nice meal of pozole (a delicious soup of hominy and chicken or pork, topped with onion, oregano, lime, lettuce, and tostadas) and shared stories from both cultures. As midnight approached, we were served twelve grapes each. The tradition of the grapes is that, at midnight, each grape is eaten with a specific New Year's wish or resolution, like a marriage proposal, a new job, or a family member's health. There are even other traditions that accompany each grape according to the wish (I think one is supposed to eat a grape under the table if they want to get married), but I wasn't familiar enough with them to try. I do think this is a tradition I'll bring home to the States.
At midnight, we all hugged each other again, but there were fewer people in attendance this time, so it was easier to get to everyone. Then we went outside and lit sparklers. I had a bad experience with sparklers once so I only lit one or two and let the others have fun with the rest.
It was a really special holiday for me and I'm so grateful.
But, you may recall that Christmas is not over after December 25th, nor on January 1st. Remember, there are 12 days of Christmas, and the twelfth day is the feast of the Epiphany, when the arrival of the Three Kings to the nativity of the baby Jesus is celebrated. In Mexico, this day is a big deal. Instead of Santa, children here await the arrival of los Reyes Magos who leave toys for them overnight so that they wake up to find them on the 6th. Kids often write notes to the Reyes, like we do with Santa, but instead of putting out stockings, shoes are left out to be filled with goodies. I think some food for the donkeys (and maybe the Kings?) is left out, like the cookies and milk we leave Santa. On Epiphany morning, I heard a bicycle bell ringing and looked out the window to see my adorable eight-year-old neighbor Matías riding a brand new bicycle around our patio. He later brought over some new board games to play with us. It reminded me of my Christmas morning at his age. It's truly a special time.
That evening, my tutora's family, my roommates, and I gathered at my apartment for la rosca de los Reyes, which is a very similar to the King Cake eaten in New Orleans for Mardi Gras. They were sold EVERYWHERE the whole week after Christmas, and every family has one. The idea is that everyone cuts a slice of a size of their choosing, but if you find the small plastic baby Jesus in your piece, you have to bring tamales for everyone at the next celebration on Día de la Candelaria, or February 2nd (also known as Candlemas, the Feast of the Presentation and of the Purification of the Virgin, or as I like to remember it, Groundhog Day, my favorite day of the year).
Lo and behold, my slice had a baby in it (whose head had melted a bit in the baking process), so I guess I'll be buying tamales for everyone next month (I wouldn't dare make them myself--I'll let the Mexican cocineros work their magic, for everyone's sake).
It's been a joyful time in Mexico, and as I begin the scond half of my Fulbright grant, I hope to carry that joy with me, even during the really challenging moments.
P.S. As I write this, Matías is outside riding his new bicycle with the same excitement as when he received it a week ago. :)
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