Christmas in Puerto Rico

The Puerto Ricans have no problem showing that they know how to celebrate Christmas. It is not something that takes place for a couple of days then is forgotten about. The celebrations start in the early part of December and carries right on through till mid January. There are some very specific days within this time span. December 24th, and 25th, followed by December 31st. However, the most important day of all from the children’s point of view is January 6th known as el Dia de Reyes.

An important piece of apparel to be donned to celebrate the Christmas season is the “pava” which is a traditional straw hat that is reserved just for Christmas. Another wonderful tradition is the parranda. It’s just Christmas caroling in some of the other countries. Guest will show up a person’s house unexpected. There will be much music of course. The Puerto Ricans are well known for their festivities, which always include their much loved music. These small groups will just show up at a persons door and start singing and playing whatever instruments they have brought along with them. Of course, this can’t take place in the early part of the evening, it must be after 10pm. After all it is a surprise visit. They will tell you though that the visiting group did drop many hints about what was going to happen. Here they will party for a while, then move onto the next house. This will go on to the very early hours of the morning.

In the traditional days of Christmas the Reyes, celebration would begin on the eve of three king’s day. The children take shoeboxes and fill them with grass for the camel’s dinner. These boxes are placed under the beds of loved ones, such as parents, or aunts and uncles. Then through the night, the Lose Reyes comes and feed their camels with the food from the boxes. In return, they fill the boxes with wonderful gifts for the children.

One of the traditions that marks the festivities is the roasting of a pig on a spit. it’s a chore in that it must be watched carefully as it cooks so it won’t burn. As the pig roasts, there is much festivity with lots of music. The women will be busy preparing other dishes to go with the roast pig and the various desserts.