My family starts celebrating all our libra and scorpio birthdays in October and early November. Then, the official navidades start the day after Thanksgiving (and NO, this has nothing to do with Black Friday and everything to do with Puerto Ricans having party in our blood). In December, there are Aguinaldos from the 17th - 24th, Nochebuena (Xmas Eve), Navidad (Xmas Day)on the 25th, on December 28th, Día de los Santos Inocentes (according to Christian scripture, the mass infanticide ordered by Herod the Great) and stemming from this, el Festival de las Máscaras in Hatillo (which is supposed to ward off evil spirits and is similar to April Fools Day). Then, there's Despedida de Año/ Año Viejo/ Víspera de Año Nuevo -New Year's Eve, then, of course, New Year's Day and celebration of the Three Kings/ Epiphany on January 5th - 6th, followed by Las Octavitas. During these 8 days, we visit family with parrandas and trullas, we deliver gifts to thsoe that we didn't see during Christmas and we're thankful to have gotten through the holidays and into a new year healthy and happy, surrounded by friends and family.
This is supposedly the end of las navidades, but as Puerto Ricans are known for not wanting to give up our fiestas, we extend them with the famous Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián, which stem from another religious feast day, but with 1,000s of artesanos selling their arts, crafts, jewelry, etc and over 300,000 people eating, drinking, dancing and partying in the streets of Old San Juan, it gets downright rowdy and I'm not really sure how it celebrates Sebastián the martyr, but it's one of PR's most popular fiestas and the most fun you'll ever have on the island in one weekend! Officially, all the partying culminates on February 2nd with the feast of La Candelaria and Candlemas (also religious traditions) during which Christmas trees are burned and the holidays are put to rest until the next year.
Away from the island, the holidays are just so low-key and sad for me. Eating, drinking, being (really) merry, hanging out with all the cousins, the vecinos, the extended family is the best part of the year. It's one party after another and no matter, how little the party starts out, it's always fun and goes on into the wee hours of the night usually culminating in a parranda, when we decide it's time to go wake up the neighbors, friends and family that aren't at the party by arriving on their doorsteps with an assortment of musical instruments and singing in exchange for a very late night supper and hopefully, a shot (or 5) of coquito, rum or some other seasonal bebida.
If I'm not in PR for las navidades, I'm sulking at home thinking about all the fun I had last navidades with all my cousins, friends and family and thinking about how much I miss them. It may be hard to understand what las navidades are all about on the island especially if you've never witnessed them. Yes, it's a little commercialized (as is Xmas all over the US), but more than that, it's just the time of year, when everyone's happy and you smile and of course, accept when even your worst neighbor comes a knocking with a bottle of coquito or PR's very own moonshine, pitorro/ cañita.
And, of course, the holidays away from the island are fun, but it's just not the same. Sure, go home and stay there is what you're probably thinking...sunny, tropical, never winter. I must be crazy to live away from it right? Well, that's another story about yet another way that mi islita is so different from the rest of the US.
Went to the garden shop to buy some peat moss. Since I was there, figured I'd go all out and buy the big one. I pulled up on my bike at the pick up area and the service guy looks at me, turns around,, walks back in, comes back, out, gawks.
