Christmas in Ecuador
The holy night revisited
Christmas was kind of different this year. I went with Fredy,his mother and his nephew to visit his brother Danilo and family in Pasaje, just east of Machala (a 13 hour bus tour). Danilo runs a school or a foundation where less fortunate kids can receive education. The first night there was a Christmas gathering for the kids and their parents with entertainment from both the kids and the parents. Even me and Fredy sung I wish you a merry christmas! We were thinking of doing another song: Jingle Bells, but as Fredy always pronounced it as jingle balls, I thought it was a little inappropriate. On Christmas Eve we went out to eat at a very nice restaurant. We had a turkey with sauce, mached prunes, and a fruit salat, very nice. The first meal I have had in Ecuador that was served without rice! After the meal we bought a bottle of wiskey, went home and got hammerd. Not exactly the christmas eve tradition I`m jused to!
Christmas eve with the Garcia bros. Danilo, Fredy and Renato
The 25th. we went to a family gathering and on the eve of the 26 there was again time to get drunk,(or chupar as they call it) this time in my honor as I was leaving for Otavalo the next day.
I was told that the christmas tradition is a little differnt for each family but this family did not really have any gift tradition, maybe one gift on day and another the next and mostly for the kids. Many shops were also open on christmas day, which I found kind of odd.
In otavalo there is a tradition that relatives meet for about 2 hours every night nine days before Christmas. One night in one house the next in another and so forth. There is a reading of thee christmas story, a collective prayer and then everybody gets coke and cake afterwards. One night we even played bingo. It is a very nice tradition that gets all the family together. Which is just the way it should be.
Anyways...this was my christmas.
take care for now!
Nonni
posted by Nonni @ 5:47 e.h.
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