Even though there’s a specific vision of the American Christmas and its traditions including Santa Claus, gingerbread houses, hot chocolate, and more, other cultures hold their own special way to celebrate this time of year. Incorporating the voices and personal stories of culturally involved Bearcats, here’s a look at the way that they and their countries enjoy this hearty holiday.
Mexico
In Mexico, the Christmas celebration starts on December 12 and ends on January 6. Nine Posadas (Inn or Lodging), which celebrate the period where Joseph and Mary (Jesus’ parents) sought for a place to stay, are performed by children from December 16 until Christmas Eve. Paper lanterns, moss, and greenery are put up around the outsides of houses for these acts. Nacimiento, or nativity scenes, are also popular decorations, and can sometimes take up a whole room.
Victor Rodriguez Rivera, a junior whose family incorporates their Hispanic culture into their Christmas celebration, says how he always goes to his aunt’s house for Christmas because she hosts the large family gathering.
“My aunt’s house is decorated with a Christmas tree, nativity scenes in the living room, and a large Mary figure in the center of the table,” Rivera said.
December 24, or Noche Buena (Christmas Eve), is a family day where churches create parade floats that can go through the plaza. That night, there is a midnight mass service followed by fireworks.
Rodriguez said that although his family doesn’t go to a midnight mass service, they still make sure to stay up so that they can all hug and share speeches of their gratitude once it reaches midnight. Throughout the night, they also spend time “eating lots of food, listening to a lot of Mexican music, and dancing.”
On Christmas day, they eat meals that traditionally include pozole (soup with hominy, chicken or pork and chilies), roast turkey or pork, tamales, romeritos (green vegetable that’s cooked in a mole sauce with potatoes and shrimps), and side salads, such as Ensalada Nochebuena (Christmas Eve Salad).
Rivera’s family make and eat many of these traditional foods, including pozole, mole, and tamales.
“We also always drink ponche, which is just kind of like a hot fruit drink,” Rivera said.
Mexican Christmas traditions are prominent in Rivera’s household and he shares that he enjoys this time of year because of the time he spends with his family and the activities they do.
Ethiopia
In Ethiopia, Christmas is actually celebrated on January 7, due to using the Gregorian calendar. Or, in the Ethiopian calendar, it is celebrated on the 29 of Tashas.
Leading up to Christmas, practitioners partake in a 43 day fast, named Tsome Nebiyat (Fast of the Prophets). Aimed to clear the body of sin, during this fast the believers abstain from non-vegan products, psychoactive substances (such as alcohol), and only consume one meal per day.
On Gahad of Christmas (Christmas Eve), Ethiopians attend an overnight mass.
“My family has never done something like it, but I’ve heard from some of my relatives about the overnight masses that they attend. I heard they could last from 6PM all the way to 3AM,” sophomore Mekdes Siegrist said, who is Ethiopian and combines her culture with American traditions for her Christmas celebration.
It is not common for gifts or presents to be exchanged in Ethiopia. Their festivities are more about the communal experience and their commitment to their faith.
The traditional Christmas meal in Ethiopia is doro wat, a richly spiced, fragrant, and delicious chicken-and-egg stew. Injera, a thin sourdough flatbread, is used to eat the wat instead of using cutlery.
Siegrist’s family eats a similar Ethiopian meal for their holiday celebration named tibs, a dish of cubed beef or lamb, peppers, veggies, lemon juice. It is similar to doro wat, but it is sauteed rather than stewed.
“For Christmas, we usually eat tibs, and we also don’t use silverware,” Siegrist said.
Siegrist also explained that she likes to bring tibs to school to share with her friends and that she enjoys teaching them about the Ethiopian staple.
