Thursday, December 24, 2015

The Nativity


This Christmas we decided to do something different.  We headed to the Christmas market and looked for items to make a nativity scene.  We thought it'd be fun for the kids to pick things out and  make it their own.  This time of year there is a whole section set-up that sells everything you can imagine for a nativity as well as Christmas decorations - moss, grass, figures, mangers, pine cones, colored sawdust, garlands, lights, etc.


The scenes are something many families (not so much poor families) make every year and they can be quite elaborate and are probably equivalent to our American Christmas tree.  Ours is pretty basic but we've got ducks and turtles.  


 We had to haggle a little bit for the baby Jesus.  The starting price was $10 but we got him down to $2.50


Mary and Joseph are orange but this is Guatemala and they like things bright. 



                  The 3 wise men complete with frankincense and myrrh, a gold ring too.

Christmas Eve is the big day here - Noche Buena.  Today, families are busy preparing tamales and a hot fruit punch which is the traditional meal.  It takes hours to make and they will eat at midnight.  We will receive lots of love today in the form of this yummy tipica food.  It's one of our favorite things to eat!