How To Enjoy The Holidays In Latin America With Your Latina Partner

Time for the holidays!

Latin America is composed of several countries. Depending on where your Latina partner is from, you’re going to have to spend your holidays there and adapt to the culture. You might be caught off-guard by the differing traditions that she and her family have.

For starters, let’s look at the countries and what they do for a holiday season.

Latin Countries and Their Traditions

Some countries have similar traditions while others have their own unique practices. But for assurance’s sake, we’ll pick out a few of the traditions that are unique to their country so you’ll know exactly how to enjoy the holidays in Latin America. For example:

• Chile

Chile calls Christmas “Pascua” and is one of the few countries that refer to it as such instead of “Navidad.” This country is famous for a sponge cake that was introduced by German and Italian immigrants called “pan de Pascua.” It’s bread made with ginger, honey, nuts and candied fruits.

They serve it whenever Christmas is in season. If your girlfriend is from Chile by any chance, you might get the chance to get a taste of this treat. Women from Latin America tend to have a fondness for cooking and baking so you might just get to taste pan de Pascua made by her.

• El Salvador

The elaborate firework displays on Christmas Eve in El Salvador and other Central American countries can easily be confused for a Fourth of July or New Year’s Eve celebration.

El Salvador celebrates Christmas like it’s a new year. You can imagine exactly how they celebrate the actual New Year’s. Christmas in Latin America varies but this country celebrates it with more color and loud noises.

In recent years, however, the government has become strict and increased scrutiny, mostly due to the number of deaths and injuries caused by pyrotechnics each year.

Regardless, excerpt your holiday with a Latina in El Salvador to be a loud and colorful experience.

• Colombia

Colombia celebrates Christmas early because of El Día de las Velitas (the Day of the Little Candles) on December 7.

The tradition stretches back to 1854, when Pope Pius IX declared the Virgin Mary’s Immaculate Conception to be the Catholic Church’s official doctrine. While the religious importance is significant, with so many lights dotting Colombia’s calles, there is no shortage of celebration around this time to start off the Christmas season.

• Ecuador

The Novena de Navidad, which begins nine days before Christmas on December 16, consists of singing around the Nativity scene. There’s even a step-by-step guide to the structure of song and prayer. It’s also famous in Colombia for completing velitas festivities.

• Guatemala

Posadas in Guatemala, which are also traditional in Mexico, are a nine-day celebration that begins nine days before Christmas. Adults and children alike re-enact biblical scenes commemorating Mary and Joseph’s trek to find shelter before the birth of Baby Jesus.

With prayers, Christmastime punch, and piñatas, the festivity appeals to both the pious and the partygoers.

• Mexico

While you may be familiar with Mexico’s long-standing tradition of Posadas, there are some other surprising celebrations you might not know about. Every year on December 23, Oaxaca celebrates the Night of the Radishes, which dates back to 1897. Tourists gather from all over Mexico to partake in the festivities as merchants compete to create the most ornate radish carving.

Yes, they create fascinating radish sculptures.

The poinsettia, also known as the flor de Nochebuena in Mexico, traces its origins there. Joel Roberts Poinsett became the first US Ambassador to Mexico after Mexico’s independence in 1821, and carried the flower that has come to represent Christmas back to the United States.

• Peru

In Peru, Nacimientos (Nativity scenes) are taken seriously. The Instituto Cultural Teatral y Social hosts an annual Nacimiento competition where Latina women as well as men from all across the country compete to recreate Jesus’ birth. The competition, which has been held every year since 2005, produces a variety of unique Nativity scenes that incorporate elements from Peru’s various regions.

• Uruguay

Uruguay is a secular country, unlike the majority of Latin America. Christmas is not an official holiday recognized by their government. People celebrate with trees and feasts in gatherings that resemble what we think of as a Christmas celebration, but it’s named the “Day of the Family” instead.

Other Latin Holidays

Aside from the Christmas season, Latin America also has some of their own holidays and events that are exclusive to them. Some might even be more festive than Christmas and your Latina partner might want to celebrate them with you someday.

• MEXICO: Day of the dead

Mexico’s Día de los muertos or Day of the Dead is a popular holiday around the world. On November 1st, families welcome back the souls of their deceased relatives for a brief reunion. This reunion includes food, drinks and celebration.

• PERU: Carnival

Peruvian carnival is a tradition, a festival made out of faith and is an indigenous celebration. In February, the week before Lent, Peru celebrates its Carnival by bringing the streets of Huaraz, Huancayo and Cajamarca to life.

Songs, dances, parades, floats, children in costumes, contests and so on-- these are what happens in Peru’s Carnival.

• GUATEMALA: Flower festival

Imagine the colonial town of Antigua with its magnificent cobblestone walkways with millions of brilliant flowers decorated everywhere.

In November, spring arrives, the flowers bloom, and it’s the ideal time to take a stroll around town. The festival is a natural fit for Antigua, which is reportedly renowned as the "City of Perpetual Roses.” They have floral competitions, and shops and homes decorate with flowers on New Year’s Eve.

A Date During the Holidays

Spending your Christmas with your Latina girlfriend will mean you have to adhere to Latin traditions-- but who says that can’t be a wholesome and new experience?

Enjoy the holidays like she does! Celebrate the things she’s always been celebrating ever since she was younger. It will help you develop a deeper connection, plus you get to enjoy a vacation in a different country during a season of festivities.