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Holiday Traditions

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Alan Groh

Dec 7, 2021

Honduras

Categories:

Holidays, Tradition, Culture

I came across an article entitled, “Christmas in Honduras is an Important Family Holiday,” in The Honduras Travel Blog and Destination Guide which describes the customs and traditions of the Christmas Holiday in this region. I have always had this fascination with other cultures and traditions during the holiday season.


Honduras is a small, beautiful country located in Central America. Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, and the Caribbean Sea border Honduras. Most Hondurans are of the Christian faith. Not unlike many Latin American cultures, Honduras celebrates Christmas on the eve of the 24th of December. Although the holiday is on the 25th, the celebration is on the 24th. Christian Hondurans consider Christmas eve sacred, and life comes to a stop to observe it. Transportation companies including bus companies, local airlines, and even the ferry services stop operation on this day.


There are many customs and traditions when celebrating Christmas in Honduras. Three of them involve clothing, food, and fireworks. Everyone in the family should have their “estreno” on Christmas, loosely translated as ‘premiere,’ and this means, everyone should have new clothes to wear. This tradition can be interchangeable with New Year's Eve. It is a good omen when everyone in the family has their estreno on Christmas.


Another tradition is food. Pork, served with a delicious sauce, is a traditional dish. Expect tamales on the table too, often made with pork and wrapped in a banana leaf. The banana leaf yields a drier tamale than the ones most people are familiar with from Mexico (which are wrapped in a corn husk). And do not forget the dessert, Rosquillas en miel or torrejas. Rosquillas en miel are small donuts, made of corn, hard and soaked in honey. Torrejas are fried egg whites also soaked in honey.


And of course, Christmas would not be complete without fireworks. People light fireworks in the moments leading up to midnight Christmas Eve. Friends and family gather in the streets to honor the holiday.


Christmas is a time of giving. People exchange gifts on Christmas Eve. ‘Santa Claus’ visits Christmas Eve day and presents are opened that night. Selfless acts of giving are common. The Olancho Aid Foundation is a good example. This organizations prepares small gifts and staples of apples and grapes and delivers them to homes in the rural areas who are not as affluent as other homes.


Many of us live in multicultural communities and the diversity of languages, religions, holidays, food, music, and art can make for a vibrant and colorful hometown life, especially when they can be openly and freely shared. Every culture has wonderful and unique traditions surrounding holidays that are important to each. It is delightful when cultural groups in local communities share their experience with those less familiar. Food, preparation, sharing, eating, is a common bond that brings people from diverse groups together. Many cities have ethnic festivals to highlight the wonderful diversity of their hometowns with music, food, language, dance, art, conversation and more.


Here is a suggestion to strengthen relationships with other cultural groups in your community. Take some token of your holiday and share it with people of other cultures or, simply, those less fortunate. For example, if baking is something you enjoy doing during your holiday make something and give it to your neighbors who may not observe the same holiday. If sharing gifts is a part of your holiday tradition, consider creating and giving care packages to give to homeless people. I have done this before and I included scarves, gloves, hats, socks, toiletries, and sweets. The possibilities are as wide as your imagination. Holidays offer us an opportunity to connect with humanity. Dare to be different this holiday season and get out of your comfort zone. You just might be amazed at what you discover.

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Catalog #:

1021.102.01.120721

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