nativity

Feliz Noche Buena

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Feliz Noche Buena by Rudy Giron

Merry Christmas Eve!

In Guatemala, Christmas Eve is as important as Christmas. People stay up all night waiting for midnight to have tamales with the family and to open up their presents underneath the Christmas tree. People also burn many different types of firecrackers and fireworks. Kids run around the neighborhood given hugs and wishing a Merry Christmas. Right at midnight people burn so many firecrackers and fireworks that you might think it is the third world war.

Also, by midnight baby Jesus is placed in the nacimiento (Nativity scene) and religious people go to church for the Christmas mass service.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and I thank you for visiting AntiguaDailyPhoto and for your wonderful feedback and comments thus far.

My friend Christian “@cvander” shared this video of marimba Christmas music medley: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer & Jingle Bells. Enjoy!

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Baby Jesus Inside the Nacimiento

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On the December 8th, It was Carmen who said, “Baby Jesus was put in his spot within the Nacimiento after we came back from the Misa de Gallo…” in the comments of the entry about the Nacimiento Shrine Niche at Capilla de Belén. Well, I am glad to know that our fellow readers and visitors are eager to fill in all the details and ephemerides that I leave out (out of ignorance). Follow the link if you would like to learn about Nacimientos tradition in Guatemala.

Nacimiento Shrine Niche at Capilla de Belén

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One important aspect of this particular Nacimiento is the fact that Santo Hermano Pedro de Betancourt managed to get himself in the picture of the Nativity shrine. For those who are not well verse in Catholic imagery, myself included, normally the Nativity scene shows Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus along with a few animals. No, Santo Hermano Pedro could not be present there since he was born about 1600 years later, give or take a few moons. Rather, the inclusion of his image, on the right, is to celebrate and to remember that is was Santo Hermano Pedro de Betancourt who introduced the Nacimiento and Posadas to the American Continent, to La Antigua Guatemala if you want to be precise, and from this old town, this celebration was taken to the rest of the continent.