The Day of the Devil is the day they symbolically rid their homes of demons by collecting their junk and burning it in the street. The day culminates in strapping fireworks to a piñata representation of Satan and blowing him up. Some of the boys and I were visiting a friend in the Capital on this day and had the pleasure of blowing up our own Satan effigy.
Christmas is a little different in Latin America. Though some families have a Christmas tree of sorts, the real center-piece of the decorations is the family Nativity Scene. They pour hours of work into creating a complex landscape of figurines, showing all of life rejoicing the coming of Christ. Some had whole menageries of animals. Some had tiny waterfalls. My family had a wedding in theirs. But the mangers remain empty until the stroke of midnight Christmas Eve, when each family prayerfully places the baby in the manger, and the entire town erupts in cacophonous firework explosions to celebrate the coming of the King.
The day after Christmas, San Juan hosts an enormous Parade competition. The families who enter spend months preparing – building floats, making costumes, rehearsing dances. Because Rachel, Landon and I were living in the same extended family, we were invited to participate in that family’s entry: A dancing pirate crew. In the month before the event, we practiced once or twice each week. They taught us some common Guatemalan dances, and Rachel taught them the Electric Slide and Cupid Shuffle. When the competition finally arrived, we donned our pirate garb and spent four hours dancing through the cobble-stoned streets. In the end, they never announced a winner, but we had a good time.
New Years Eve, my friends and I were hanging out in a house near the top of the hill. This afforded us a view of Antigua and it’s surrounding villages in the valley. We gazed in awe as an entire landscape of fireworks appeared all around us and out before us. I had never seen anything like it before.
Each special day was accompanied by Guatemala’s traditional holiday food – tamales and punch. Guatemalan punch is served warm and is like cider filled with chunks of fruit. It’s delicious.
My family always invited me to share in their holiday celebrations with their extended family. I opened Christmas gifts with their kids and cousins. I visited their grandparents for holiday food. And I shared in their New Years Eve bar-b-que. They adopted me into their family and shared with me as though I was one of their own. I was touched by the love they showed me, and will never forget my holiday season with my San Juan family.
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