MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
Where did this great pharse come from? Why are those that find it offensive?
This is a magical time of year. That is if you aren't one that is politically correct. If you are then this is a time that irritates you because afterall, you most likely are unhappy with yourself and as the old saying goes,"Misery loves company". Fortunately there are only a few of you deadheads. By God, that means that the majority are happy even elated to say "Merry Christmas". However, you CAN join those celebrities that have avowed to leave the country since President-elect Trump has pledged to "drain the swamp".
I digress. Merry Christmas.Time for giving and receiving. Time to spend with family and friends and to thank God for His gift to us. A gift that I believe not a single parent here would ever think of giving to another. A gift that NEVER STOPS giving! A love that can never be matched. So I hope that all can join me in thanking God for his selflessness and bountiful blessings that He bestows upon us each and every day.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
and
Happy Birthday Jesus!!
The real reason for the Christmas Celebration
Here in Costa Rica it is extremely important that each family have their portal displayed during the Christmas holiday period. The portal is merely the manger scene depicting Jesus in the manger shortly after his birth surrounded by the animals, his parents and the three wise men.
These displays can be seen on front porches (garages) and/or in their living rooms near the traditional festively decorated tree. They are normally set up at the begining of December and then taken down and tossed away or stored away after the first of the year but only after praying the rosary. It is customary that the replica of the baby Jesus is placed in the manger at midnight on the 24th. Which leads me to another interesting custom.
Eating!! The families get together Christmas Eve night and socialize and eat and talk and eat and dance and eat and sing and eat.........you get the picture. Then after midnight they sit down to eat again. They enjoy various typical local dishes. Tamales, marinated beef and the cherished pork leg. This savory main course is cooked in the oven or outside over coals.
Least we not forget the rompope. They make the tasty little drink and add Ron(rum). The times that I have partaken of their mixture I always say, "So you like a little eggnog with your rum I see". I have learned to say that after the first sip otherwise later my speech is so slurred that even I can't understand what I think I said.
I have gotten off the path that motivated me to write this post. The PORTAL. This is the real symbol that properly depicts the reason for the season. Unfortunately, due to the commercialization and the politically correct crowd in Estados Unidos this concrete fact has been buried! For me it's like taking the birth out of birthday. Then you have just another day. Another ho hum day just like yesterday and probably just like tomorrow will be.
So lets raise a glass of rompope and toast to the real reason, the Birthday of Jesus.
Now for something totally different.
One of the most interesting differences of celebrating Christmas in Costa Rica is the week between Christmas day and New Years day. That is unless you don't like horses and 'bull fighting'. It's not really bull fighting. It's not bull running. It's more like bull antagonizing!
First there is the festival itself called ‘Festejos Populares’. It is held in a picturesque district called Zapote. It is the highlight of that district for the entire year. It also houses the offical residence of the president. But enough of the priddle. Lets talk bull.
The ‘Festejos Populares’ is a very interesting pastime for Ticas and Ticos alike. For an entire week these brave(crazy) people(very sick individuals) get into a 'bull' ring and wave their arms around and pester some poor unassuming bulls. What they want is for the bull to come at them so they can jump a wall to get away and thus strut around like they just conquered the poor unassuming bull. Now I ask you amigos and Amigas, in what deranged state can this be called COOL?
However, there is alot of amusement in watching it on TV whilst sipping, truth be known, GULPING heavily spiked eggnog and devouring turkey sandwiches for four days. I sit there wondering.........Do these people take vacation time for this tomfoolery or work a half day at work drinking so they can spend the other half making total jerks of themselves?
But then there is always this. It gets interesting at the 1:45 minute mark. To gain a better understanding of the overall experience click here.
In retrospect growing up in Roanoke, VA, maybe induring freezing temperatures and shoveling snow ain't so bad. Wait, we all know thats nothing but a high heap of bull!!!
Panama City, Panama
Holidays In Costa Rica
This will be my sixth holiday season here in the small Latin country of Costa Rica and there is such a contrast so I thought I would expound on the stark differences between my hometown of Roanoke, VA and this place many see as paradise.
There is no Thanksgiving celebration here. Why should there be. They did not have a feast with the indians to thank them and God for their appreciation of the knowledge that had been passed on to them. At the time they were indians going through their own trials and tribulations.
Christmas? Many had yet to learn of this thing called Christianity. Gods were plentiful and they already knew about sacrifices and such. Afterall, there are many volcanoes here. I am not suggesting that many virgins met their fate in the hot firey bellys of some, but then again, who knows.
Our last Christmas in Roanoke in 2009 was a real snow affair. The wife who is from Costa Rica always went into a joyful dance when it snowed. But as I told her each time, "You're elated but you aren't the one that has to shovel the walk and dig out two cars"!! She would then show empathy through her snow colored glasses and proceed to watch me through the deck sliding glass doors as I toiled and cursed outside in her winter wonderland.
Fast-forward to our home here. At Christmas time we are coming out of the rainy season and the hardest thing I am faced with is what pair of shorts shall I wear today. Don't laugh. You haven't seen my boney stumps! Thank God they now have those that come down below the knees.
Another satisfying thing is that the open vegetable markets go year round here. The selection is enormous and the quanity abundant. But you need to be cautious. Have them cut open a sample if they haven't already just to keep 'em honest. I have found that just because it looks good outside does not necessarily represent what is inside.
The seasons favorite food is tamales. A mixture of cornmeal with a sprinkling of vegetables and a small piece of meat or two. All wrapped in a plantain leaf. They go great with a cup of hot costa rica coffee that has been pumped up with a little Don Braulio to taste.(coffee liqueur) Don't eat the leaves.
More later...................
