Merry Christmas in Peru – where you can find the real Christmas feeling!
Semíramis F. Alencar Moreira – Redação Hurb – semiramis.moreira@hurb.com
The Hurb, the great Brazilian travel agency, gives you 5 tips where you can find the real Christmas feeling in Peru. El Noche Buena will fill your soul with gratitude and peace.
Traditional Christmas
The Navidad is commemorated in December 24th night, just like the Venezuela, Bolivia, Brazil and many other countries in South America. Most of the Peruvian citizens goes to the Catholic churches to see the Missa do Gallo, at 10 pm (two hours earlier than the others countries in South America). The dinner of Christmas is also served at December 24th, is called Cena de navidad where the whole family eat together.
Some families let their children open its gifts at midnight, although the tradition rules that the gifts are opened at January 6th, the Día de los Santos Reyes or Epifania, the date reminds when the Magi brought gifts to the baby Jesus.
The external influences in Peruvian culture
External Christmas influences are not very present yet, but there is already a tendency to associate Christmas with European traditions – Santa Claus and the whole Christmas imagination of the northern hemisphere.
In any case, much of the population still prefers to assemble the cribs, also llamas, alpacas, Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Magi and stable animals, permeated by the angel Gabriel and cherubins, in a beautiful painting that often covers much of the living room of each residence.
Other representations are known as retablos and are a kind of folk art with wood sculptures, ceramics and paintings with religious purposes. Tridimensional ones, normally represents religious and historical events or daily costumes, but in Christmas they retreats the manger scenes.
Some places to visit
- Churches – They are always open everywhere this period of the year, many of them realizes masses during the day, following the sacraments like confession and communion. Its sculptures and natural illumination seems much brighter during December time.
- Christmas market in Cusco´s Plaza de Armas – It offers a large variety of goods, gifts, handmade toys and traditional Cusco Christmas decoration.
- Christmas full of light in Lima – The best place to go with your family – the whole city is decorated with colored lamps. Lima concentrates many funny activities like skating in Iceland Park (Jesus Maria district) or Lima’s Circuito Mágico del Agua which is, undoubtedly, the most beautiful color, music and dance you´ll see there!
- Puno is a rare opportunity to know a traditional Christmas time. The folk capital of Peru, Puno has fanfarras and some festivities in Titicaca´s Lake. In the colonial churches, the choirs seems just like heaven´s vision, so you must visit them! Enjoy an Andean Christmas with a local family and find out the really meaning of Christmas in your heart, sharing love each other.
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