The Peruvian Christmas Experience

Our small but brightly shining
Christmas tree

Feliz Navidad y Año Nuevo de Cusco! I hope this post finds everyone happy, healthy and enjoying a wonderful 2013. As you can imagine, spending the holidays in Peru was QUITE the experience. With that said, I’ll begin by saying that the quantity of fireworks set off during Christmas and New Years in Peru doesn’t hold a flame to the best Fourth of July fireworks show in the States… pun intended. I’ll explain more on this point, but first it would be good to share a little about what happened before the explosions begin.

Hundreds of women and children
 from the countryside sleeping
 in La Plaza the night before
selling their goods at the Market. 

As I stated in a previous post, unlike the U.S., where we start preparing for Christmas in November, Cusco doesn’t really get into the Christmas spirit until the week of… or should I say day of. Alex and I left the house on the morning of December 24th with plans to visit the annual La Plaza de Armas Christmas Eve Market our host mother had told us about. We quickly realized that what we thought was going to be a leisurely afternoon in the city was going to be quite the opposite; it was as if every Peruvian realized they had yet to do any Christmas shopping and flooded the streets in a frenzied, “I need gifts” panic. Being a member of the Almond family, and naturally being late for most events, I felt completely empathetic and right at home at the sight of this.  Thankfully, however, I had done a small amount of Christmas shopping the day before Christmas Eve and was able to breathe a sigh of relief, knowing I was slightly ahead of Peruvian schedule.  

So, after riding in a crammed collectivo and weaving our way through throngs of hasty shoppers, we finally arrived in the Center.  Alex and I have explored quite a few different markets during our time here in Cusco, but never have we seen anything like this. The roads were all blocked off in order for hundreds, literally hundreds, of white merchant tents to crowd the cobblestone streets, leaving only narrow walkways for the thousands of shoppers to mosey through.

Christmas Eve Market in La Plaza de Armas 

With all five senses on overdrive we began touring through the tents, admiring the craftsmanship displayed in every one. Merchants were selling anything from fireworks, to pottery, to small glittery clothes and cradles for baby Jesus dolls – anything you wanted could be found at this market. After picking out a few little gifts and coming dangerously close to buying an adorable, fluffy, brown Christmas puppy, Alex and I decided we’d had enough of the sights, sounds and smells and settled for a cup of coffee before heading back home.

Fountain decorations in La Plaza

One of the city's many nativity sets

As darkness rolled in, we had yet to find an Evangelical church to attend for  Christmas Eve service. We accepted an offer from Jully to go with the family to their Catholic church and around eight o’clock, eight of us piled into Padre Cesar’s car (Father Cesar is a Catholic priest from the Sacred Valley who stays at our house every weekend) and drove up the winding hillside roads to the Catholic church. If you’re anything like me, you are probably imagining a beautiful, historic Spanish cathedral where people attend, dressed in their Sunday best while a booming organ plays in the background. Again, I couldn’t have been more wrong in my assumption. We pulled up outside a small, concrete gathering area laden with small posters of Jesus and Mother Mary and were greeted by a small congregation dressed in old jeans, jackets and scarves. Our clan pulled up a rickety wooden bench and settled in for what I was sure to be hours of Catholic mass. The service commenced as Padre Cesar welcomed everyone to Christmas Eve service and cued the lone guitar player to gather everyone to worship through song. The congregation surprised me once more by rising immediately and joining together in boisterous singing and clapping. When I noticed a family’s dog pacing impatiently around the congregation and the intense game of freeze tag being played by a group of rambunctious children behind us, it became clear that this service wasn't going to be what I had in mind. With an appreciation for the unexpected Christmas Eve service I was attending, I focused my attention on Padre Cesar’s sermon; my first and only Spanish sermon. He told the classic tale of Mary’s struggle in finding an inn and the birth of Jesus Christ but what I found most interesting was his message directed to the children. He reminded them that Christmas was not about the material gifts, the best present, or what they didn’t get that their friends did. I was immediately struck by flashbacks of the countless Christmas Eve children’s sermons I listened to growing up. It’s funny how I appreciated this message more now, as a young adult, than I ever did as a child. A short hour later, members of the congregation were invited to bring forward their baby Jesus in order for it to be blessed before placing it in the nativity set at home; this explained the excessive amounts of sparkly baby Jesus doll accessories on sale at the market earlier in the day. With arms open wide above the dozens of baby Jesus', Padre Cesar said a quick prayer and just like that, the service was over.

The host family dog, Scott,
being taken back inside
after repeatedly attacking
live fireworks... it was in his
best interest. 

The gang hanging out before the
 fireworks and feast

We returned home to warm soup and appetizers before the Christmas Eve feast. Most of the ovens in Cusco are propane fueled so in order to properly cook the traditional Christmas turkey, and ensure the best flavor, it must be sent to one of the various “cook houses” around the city with up-to-par ovens. This being said, dinner was planned for around eleven o’clock at night. We spent the night laughing, playing games, snacking and drinking “generales”, a favorite Peruvian beverage of sweet rosé wine mixed with pisco liquor. As midnight rolled around, there was still no word on our turkey. But, as our host family started lighting sparklers in the house, we quickly realized that midnight was no time to worry about silly things like eating. No, no. It was time for the show to begin… it was time for fireworks. With the stinging scent of sparklers filling the house, the eleven of us (our host family, their cousins, fellow house guest Sandra, Alex and I) filed out into the street. Sandra, Alex and I had no idea we were going to be greeted by a fiesta of colorful explosions filling the night sky. I am not exaggerating when I say the amount of fireworks that night was like nothing I had ever experienced in my life. At twelve o’clock on the dot the entire city of Cusco erupted with vibrant skyrocketing blasts, deafening hisses and pops and the smoky scent of gunpowder. Seven-year-olds lit off professional-grade mortars, toddlers wobbled around waving spitting sparklers, hunched over old men scurried away from their lit rocket launchers, middle-aged house moms chased after each other holding roman candles, and barking dogs frantically tired to smother erupting firecrackers. It was the kind of firework show people prepare weeks in advance for in the U.S., but here, it took merely seconds for the entire valley to flare up. Furthermore, I thought that anyone who wanted to set off fireworks of massive proportion needed training and a license: not in Peru. If you knew how to spark a lighter or strike a match, you were welcomed to the party.  The bulk of the explosions lasted well over a half hour but, with stomachs growling and a second wind of energy, we resorted back into the house, ready to feast.

Overjoyed by eggnog success 

The Feast

In minutes the table was laden with pasta salads, sweet potato casserole, homemade applesauce, spinach and almond salad and a massive, steaming turkey. As we happily enjoyed every dish, our family warned us of even more fireworks during New Years and told us about the various firework injuries of years past. Alex and I had spent the entire morning experimenting in the kitchen, successfully attempting to make homemade eggnog. As the dinner plates were removed from the table, I anxiously dished out cups of creamy eggnog, reminding our family and guests that it was strictly an experiment and not to worry if they didn’t like it. It turned out I was the one not to worry.  Let’s just say that if we ever decide to make Cusco home, Alex and I will make a very nice living selling eggnog. They LOVED it. By loved it, I mean they all wanted second helpings and when Alex and I woke up on Christmas morning, not only had the family already helped themselves, but they had also prepared containers full for Percy to take to family and work. While we may have introduced them to the delicious beverage of eggnog, they one-upped us by adding pisco to the mix.  Normally I strongly dislike mixing my eggnog with common liquors like whiskey or rum, but the addition of pisco was truly a delight. I only hope I’ll be able to track some down when next Christmas rolls around.
It was well after two o’clock in the morning when our party started winding down. With full, satisfied stomachs, a new understanding for the meaning “firework show,” and the feeling of homemade-eggnog-accomplishment, we said our buenas noches’ and drifted off to sleep with the muffled sound of never-ending fireworks.
Considering most of Cusco was awake well into the night setting off fireworks, eating Christmas feasts, and salsa dancing, Christmas Day itself was very uneventful. Alex and I woke up close to noon, exchanged a few small, meaningful gifts and spent most of the day snacking on leftovers, checking out nearby skateboarders breaking in new boards, and watching A Christmas Story on Netflix. Following in typical Christmas Day fashion, I didn't change out of my pajamas all day. 

Letters and Colorado greenery sent from my great mother,
great friends and great family really made our room
 spectacular.  Thank you again! 

I know the Peruvian Christmas experience will forever be a highlight of this trip. We were introduced to so many interesting customs and were able to participate in numerous local traditions. However, it was also a treat to share some of our own warmly welcomed traditions with our host family. With the perfect blend of the "new" and a little bit of the "old" Christmas 2012 was definitely one for the books. 
Realizing Christmas has come and gone is a continually dull feeling, but there is always the excitement of New Years cheer to lighten the mood. And just as our host family had warned, New Years in Cusco was quite... cheerful. Stay tuned!