A Bright Christmas
We're dreaming of a whiiiiiiite Chriss-mas! Can't really sing that song here. It never snows in the Yucatan, and there aren't many places where it snows in all of Mexico. On the tops of a few volcanos, but most of us don't live in those places.
So instead, Mexicans opt for a bright Christmas. In fact, this holiday allows the Mexican population to indulge in their passion for bright, brighter and brightest things! Bright lights! Loud colors! Things that move and make noise! The more the merrier. Even the most modest Mayan hut here will often sport a string of Christmas lights around their household altar to the Virgen of Guadeloupe. And the more upscale homes can be found with herds of those wire-mesh reindeer, outlined with lights, their vacuous heads moving slowly from side to side in time to the music.
The biggest glorieta (that would be a traffic circle to the rest of you) on Paseo Montejo has lights all the way around the circle, with music blaring out from hidden speakers. And then of course, there is Villa Navideña, the Christmas village at the beginning of Paseo Montejo. There you'll find a HUGE Christmas tree (fake of course...a real one would wither in a day or two in the heat here), decorated with ornaments the size of little Jose's head, and those cool fireworks-on-a-stick that seem to be all the rage these days in Latin America. There's also a few cool Santa setups, complete with reindeer and presents. And a creche, of course, with all the wise men and animals standing around, looking at an empty manger. The little baby Jesus doll won't be put in there until Christmas Eve.
Feliz Navidad!
