Studying:
Industrial Engineering and Management, 2nd semester of Bachelor’s
Hometown:
Mexico City, but her parents live in Montreal, Canada
Who is coming on Christmas?
Santa Claus
When do you celebrate Christmas?
25th December in the morning
What does Christmas mean to you personally?
For me, Christmas is a very important time of the year and one that I enjoy tremendously. It’s my favorite holiday not only because it has a “cozy atmosphere” when you think about the Christmas tree, the warmth created by the fireplace and the smell of freshly baked cookies. More than that, Christmas is a holiday that brings the family together, no matter what the circumstances are, and lets the family and close relatives spend one moment together.
How do you celebrate Christmas in Germany?
Since my family lives in Canada and I can‘t fly back every year, I usually spend it with the family I used to live with when I spent a year in Germany during the 9th grade in High School. They always give me a warm welcome and make me feel like home. Since it’s a German-Colombian family, it’s interesting to be part of a blend of both Christmas traditions. For instance, we read a German Christmas story before opening the presents and then sing a typical Colombian Christmas song while playing with “kitchen instruments” in a big group.
How do you celebrate Christmas with your family in your home country?
At home in Montreal, on 23rd December, each family member prepares one part of the Christmas meal. We usually eat Bacalao (a fish dish that’s very typically eaten for Christmas in Mexico), Mexican apple salad, turkey, or another meat dish to blend in the Canadian Christmas traditions. We drink wine and Atole. On 24th we first celebrate my brother’s birthday and like to spend the day building a snowman, playing board games or going sledding to enjoy the snow. In the evening, we dress up for the dinner. After that, we light up the fireplace, listen to Christmas songs and open the presents. If we are not too tired yet, we sing together or play a board game.
What traditions are there in your home country for Christmas? Has anything changed in the traditions over time?
The time before Christmas we celebrate “Posada”, which means “hostel” in English. This is a representation of how Virgin Mary and Joseph walked from home to home looking for shelter on Christmas Eve. Thus, in Mexico, we go from door to door singing “posada-songs” and when we get back to a friend‘s home, the house where one starts from, we hit the star-shaped piñata. That represents the star of Bethlehem. Sadly, this tradition is dying out, as many people don’t like to go from door to door or are too scared to do so, due to the insecurity in Mexico.