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Merry Christmas to everyone from Argentina :)
I thought I would share to you how we celebrate Christmas down here since I believe it is very different to how you celebrate in the USA.
The night before Christmas Eve ( the 23rd ) most shopping centers are open until 4 AM and they offer last minute discounts so that people can do their final Christmas shopping. It is crazy because most people are in the streets at 4 AM going crazy and buying stuff.
On the 24th people don't work ( those unfortunate who work only work until noon). Hospitals only attend emergencies, banks close at noon, public transport stops working earlier, etc.
On the 24th at night we get together with our family, have dinner ( in my case we had a turkey ). Then we wait until midnight to receive the Christmas. A few minutes before midnight we start eating a lot of sweet food and then we make a toast and then open Xmas gifts!
In general, people stay up late and have party all night long (until next morning - it's summer down here so that is a plus! ). They make parties in their houses, others go out to nightclubs, others go to friends' houses and others just hang out drinking in the streets. The night ends in the morning of the 25th . Then, that day people have lunch together with their family and relax all day long.
Taking advantage that the 26th is Friday, the government decided to turn that day into an official holiday too so that people can have a super long weekend and promote the internal tourism in the country. So nobody is going to work on the 26th either. Most people take advantage of the long weekend so they travel to the beach to continue celebrating.
So this week has been super lazy down here.
I wonder how you guys celebrate in your hometowns and what you do to receive Christmas!
Happy Holidays to everyone :)
i would mention that around here in this part of the US of A there are a number of folks who have to work. Hospitals are filled with sick people, the emergency room is open, police have to work, fire fighters have to work, ambulance personnel have to work, and don't forget that our military folks are also working.
So you celebrate Christmas on the 24th? Here in the US of A it is the 25th. Anyways have a Merry Christmas.
We start celebrating on the 24th, after midnight is already 25th so it's already Christmas! And we keep celebrating during the 25th also.
Merry Xmas!
Hi Dave, a Merry Christmas to you and your family.It was fun to read what you guys do to celebrate the holiday.On the Eve of Christmas I worked half the day then went back to our local office for a small, intimate luncheon of the field workers and office staff.After that I needed to hurry home to change and drive south of me to attend a family party at a cousin's home.That was all my immediate family in the area.Afterwards I went home and arrived there close to midnight and have to say was burnt out by then so no wild parties in the streets for me! LOL.Would have been difficult anyway since we have been having lots of rain the past few days.In my case Christmas was very quiet as I just enjoyed quiet time at home but did venture to a Starbucks since they were open.Tomorrow I will be back at work as with most people even though some companies do close for the week between the holidays.It makes for a more enjoyable commute :) Cheers my friend ...
Mârk
Hi Mark!
Too bad to hear the weather did not help that much for your Christmas this year. However, it would be cool for me to spend Christmas in the cold weather ( never spent Christmas in cold weather in my whole life haha ). Spending Christmas in summertime can be annoying too!
I wish I could spend Christmas there at least once in my lifetime :) .
Merry Xmas to you too !
Hi Dave,
Well to solve that problem you'll just have to return to the NYC area again but in late December instead of mid November like you did this year.I would enjoy celebrating Christmas with you should that ever happen in the future. Even though it was rainy this year it was still nice being a snow storm would have affected my plans so all is good :) I'm sure you had a great holiday and with New Years comming next week it's party time again my friend. Cheers
Mârk
Christmas in Argentina sounds very fun and exciting.
I noticed that the stores and streets were very busy here in upstate New York on the 23rd. My wife, for example, was out late till about 10pm finishing some last minute shopping that night.
On Christmas Eve, I got out of work around 2pm. I picked my son and we headed for home - we made two quick stops for last minute items that need to be purchased fresh. Around 7pm, my family went to church. After church service, we went home, enjoyed some special foods and had a drink or two - and then opened one gift - we usually give our kids flannel pajama pants and they wear them the next morning for our family time again... My kids are all grown up but we still do this - and now include their spouses. They go home after some time together but return early the next morning, around 8am - and we give each other gifts, as well as open our stockings from Santa - after gifts and coffee, we have a special breakfast that my wife prepared. We enjoy one another's company till about 11 am. At that time, they head out to their spouse's family time for the afternoon. Some other family and friends stop by our house for food, cookies and drinks later in the afternoon. It's a nice relaxing time for everyone.
That really sounded like a cozy christmas celebration!
I did like the church part. People here don't really use to go to church for Christmas. I would say only 1% of people go to church for Christmas.
I also liked the fact that even though your kids are all grownups, you guys still keep your family tradition. Thats cute.
Hi Dave,
First of all, congrats on your moderator status! That's way cool man!
Very interesting how you celebrate Christmas in Argentina! Sounds like a lot of fun to me! My family just had a simple Christmas dinner and opened a few gifts. It was just my wife, Mother-in-law and me. Nice to enjoy time together. Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Ted
That sounds like a cozy Christmas with family, Ted!!
I am glad you had a great time.
Happy Holidays ;)
In Argentina, you sure know how to party!
We had a couple over for dinner. In the photo, left to right, are me, my husband Larry, Moy, and Chris. Moy is Chris's boyfriend, and they've been dating for over four years. He lives in Mexico and he was up here for Christmas. Chris is a long time friend, he lives in Santa Clara, and he is one of the moderators and officers of the boots web site that my husband founded that is similar to MLHH.
Moy hadn't seen San Francisco before, so we took him and Chris on a drive around the city. Bad move. We were caught in traffic more than anything else. The photo was taken at Twin Peaks, a hill 3/4 of a mile from our house. It was sunny and very cool, and from my beard you can tell it was also very windy! But it was a beautiful afternoon, and everyone else had the same idea to be out and about. There were several hundred people just on this hill.
We got home around sunset and we sat down to dinner. Chris and Moy have now left, and we are stuffed!
Bill
That sounds like a lot of fun!
Nothing better than showing your city to people who come from abroad!
The weather looks great on that picture! Too bad you were caught in traffic. I believe that happened everywhere since people did a lot of car driving due to holidays, huh?
I like your Santa hat by the way!
Merry Xmas to you, Bill !
I'm glad to hear you guys had a great time together. Now, that view looks quite familiar to me! :)
WOW, that was a really interesting read, Dave, I love learning about cultures and traditions in other countries!
The Christmas tradition I grew up in back in Chicago, Illinois, was a bit different from the Christmas tradition I've adopted out here in Northern California now; but that could have more to do with varying from family-to-family and generation-to-generation than from actual geographical location.
When I was young, our family Christmas tradition was more centered around church attendance and involvement, going to school Christmas plays (with Nativity themes and the birth of the baby Jesus, etc.); but of course also large extended family gatherings with plenty of food to feast on, too.
There was also the giving of gifts on the morning of Dec. 25th; but not normally anything too expensive, as affordability and thoughtfulness, as well as just the spirit of giving, were emphasized over objects.
Out here in California, my sister-in-law's family are Atheists -- very generous, very kind & compassionate and very giving; but no church involvement or attending of school plays surrounding Nativity scenes. I helped my sister-in-law put up and decorate her Xmas tree down at her house, for example, and we all met Christmas Eve for a large family gathering, the exchange of gifts limited to a wrapped book exchange (so that we didn't all have to feel any pressure to get gifts for all 27 people in attendance - LOL)....
I worked Christmas Day, cooking for the old folks at my kitchen job, making sure they all got a really nice Christmas meal at the nursing home that I work at.
Mele Kalikimaka!
("Merry Christmas" in Hawaiian!)