A Merry Little Christmas in Ecuador

Some of you might find it odd that i am updating my blog on Christmas Morning….it´s 9:00 in the morning here, and the whole world is sleeping….(for a girl who is always the first one up and excited on Christmas Morning….it´s a little weird) so I decided the best time to write this blog post would be when it was all fresh on my mind….Christmas in Ecuador all takes place on Christmas Eve, late Christmas Eve….our party didn´t start until about 10:30-11:00. (I think I was already half asleep when we started. Everyone was in very nice clothes…I started out in a red shirt, looking all Christmassy…which is how I would have gone to Grandma Betty lou´s …but then my mom asked me to put something a little fancier on, because we wanted to look our best to welcome the baby Jesus into the world.

First we did the Novella, which is what we´ve done for the past 10 nights leading up to Christmas Eve. It´s really interesting…but I find it neat to have a tradition like that. My grandma is way into it. However it´s like a big long prayer to Mary, except for last night we got to put baby Jesus in the manger, and celebrate his being born. Then we sing, “Dulce Jesus Mio…..” with tambourines and whistles. After all this praying goes on, and Jesus is born, we pray to him. Everyone went around and expressed gratitude for the past year…and expressed desires for this new year. The first thing my mom said, was that she was grateful for me coming into their lives, also my grandpa prayed that I would never go back to the states. After the prayers, the sparklers are lit, and we wave them over the nativity symbolizing the Christmas star.

At exactly 12:00 on the dot, presents are opened. I honestly don´t know how they do it so fast, but presents are passed out and all opened with in seconds. I wasn´t expecting my aunts and grandparents to do anything for me. But grandpa remembered me, and I got a present from them too, my aunt Consuelo remembered me too. Patty gave me a gorgeous wool sweater…all bright colored. She said it reminded her of me. Then she said next winter when i´m walking through campus, i´ll be very warm, and it´s one of a kind…jaja. Heis gave me an awesome scarf…pink of course. And Kimberly replaced my homemade wallet that got stolen. For their presents…I did what my mom sent from the states, and I added a little something from me. I made a bracelet for Kim, for Heis I made a coupon for a dessert, and for Patty I framed a picture of us kids that I have. They all seemed very happy. My mom also sent Blink which is my Favorite card game, I spent a while teaching my cousins how to play….(thanks mom)

After presents…we ate. Yes we ate at like 12:30 at night. We had SO much food, it was delicious. I thought we would have turkey, because that´s the traditional Christmas meal here…but we decided to do turkey for New Years, so we had ham, and rice, and salads. After we got done eating, the table was cleared out of the way, and we danced. The party lasted well past 4:30, but that´s when I called it a night.
I missed my family soooooooooo much, but I also knew that I was surrounded by people who love me. I have a family here, and it´s such an awesome feeling. I missed our family traditions so much. But I was also able to participate in new ones. (maybe i´ll talk mom and dad into presents at midnight….) if i´ve learned anything here, it´s to go into things with an open mind and an open heart. You just go with the flow, and in the end you have a ton of memories to take with you.
I wish you all a very merry Christmas! I miss you all!
Feliz Navidad,
Emmy