All These Holidays
Posted on November 21, 2007 - Filed Under Fun, Mom Stuff |
Growing up in Canada, we didn´t celebrate the American Thanksgiving, ours is in October. My parents were Christian, so Halloween was out, too. For us, there was a big gap between Thanksgiving in mid-October and the festivities of Christmas.
Being the avid blog reader that I am now, I can´t believe how you Americans celebrate! One holiday after another, it´s got to be exhausting. 
And with Christmas prep starting earlier and earlier . . . well, I´m just glad I´m not from the US.
Here in Guatemala, there are plenty of celebrations, too, but most are in December and we are trying to incorporate both Canadian and Guatemalan traditions into our culturally mixed up blended family. So, we´ll be following my family tradition of setting up the tree and decorating on Dec. 1st, Irving´s tradition of burning the Devil on Dec. 7th, and enjoying posadas in the 12 days leading up to Christmas.
Dorian´s birthday is on Dec. 14th, he´s a Christmas baby! Really, because he was in the hospital for his colostomy after birth, he is a Christmas baby. He came home on Dec. 22, and we were so worn out from giving birth (me), running around finding money and doctors to help our baby (Irving), and traveling to the capital every day by chicken bus (both of us, me with stitches :o) that we didn´t even put up a tree that year. Not that we had room, we lived in one tiny little room at that point.
So, we have Dorian´s birthday on the 14th, then my mom´s birthday is the 24th, which is also when Guatemalans celebrate Christmas. They usually hang out in the streets all night, with lots of fireworks and firecrackers going off at midnight, then tamales with the family. This is the first year that we will be getting Dorian up for this, so it will be exciting. Any gifts from Guatemalan relatives will be given at this point.
The next day, on the 25th, is Canadian Christmas! The boys will have stockings ( a very non-Guatemalan tradition) and gifts from us as well as any Canadian relatives. And there will be a traditional turkey (or chicken, since there´s just three and a half of us eating) dinner on Christmas Day. But since Irving is a musician, he has to play that night, so it will be more like a mid-afternoon meal. 
Anyway, with all that, and then New Year´s . . . I just couldn´t deal with Halloween and American Thanksgiving on top! Good luck everyone and Happy Thanksgiving!
Comments
5 Responses to “All These Holidays”
Leave a Reply
As European I don’t kill turkeys either for this day !
For Friday Feast the Chef is away so I put up a feast on my blog if you want to join.
Oh, I love this post…I really have so little knowledge of Guatemalan customs. I am a blessed girl to have a sweet girlfriend in Guatemala!
Just for the record- my family doesn’t celebrate Halloween.
We do celebrate Christmas (minus Santa)-and are very excited as the month of December approaches. I am hoping to really enjoy lots of Christmas crafts and baking with the 6 kids.
We made fruit pomanders last week (take an apple or orange and stick whole cloves into it-totally cover it, then roll it in ground cinnamon (or orris root))- it smells so homey. My mother in law bought me a pretty brown specked ceramic bowl for my birthday and we filled it with the pomanders (we made 4) and dried orange slices and some pine cones I gathered in England while on holiday a few years back.
hugs to you Genesis!
Kimmie
mama to 6
one homemade and 5 adopted
Kimmie, we used to make those, too, with my mom, but when I tried it last year, the oranges were too juicy and they just leaked and rotted.
Maybe if they aren´t so fresh . . .
I’ve been wondering how to make those orange thingies. I’d like to give it a try.
I didn’t get to celebrate Halloween growing up either. Well, not after someone decided it was wrong for Christian kids to knock on doors and get candy, anyway. I hated that, because I loved to dress up and go out at night, and the things at church were always so lame.
Now, what do you mean you’re glad you’re not American?! Holidays are so much fun! We get to slide right from one to the other from October all the way to January. I guess it could be exhausting, but I just love this time of year. Everyday is special.
You guys sound like you have a fun Christmas coming up! What is the burning the devil thing about?
Sorry for the delay, but I am ‘catching up’ inbetween travels!
December, normally a nightmare, is more so this year in our house. This year, and yes I know it is still November, but we are just back from attending the Ellerslie Flower Show in New Zealand. Home for two weeks and off to Bali for the United Nations Climate Change conference. 11th is the lovley L’s birthday followed by our wedding anniversay on the 17th. Not to mention Christmas on the 25th!
Oh, and this just happens to be the busiest time of the year here at work, with Carols in the Domain bringing somewhere between 80,000-100,000 visitors!!!