Three years ago, at a time when my family was coming out of a time of struggle and estrangement, I spent Christmas with my son's in-laws in Greensboro, NC.
They are Mexican. In case a reader takes issue with that description, some explanation. Hispanic is a federal government designation for people of Spanish-speaking background. Each country of which that is true has a different history and culture. Colombians do not celebrate Day of the Dead. Peruvians do not have tacos. In fact, not all Mexicans observe Day of the Dead. Twenty-five percent of "Hispanics" are Protestants and probably as many are not religious. Yes, Roman Catholicism is the leading religion, but not practiced by all. So when I say they are Mexican, I am honoring their heritage.
The days I spent with them saw an Arctic blast in the South. It was 8 degrees there, and here; we even enjoyed a nice snow on the 26th, the day I came back to Dalton. Their vicinity's electric company had to have rolling outages and the church service was canceled. I was driving a rental car, so thankfully it was new and I had no mechanical trouble. When my corresponding in-laws' electricity went out, we went to a Golden Corral restaurant and hung out. My son just told me our area, a hub of TVA, does not have that problem with our grid. I am thankful my house's pipes did not freeze when I was there.
So, all that to say that we celebrated La Noche Buena--the food, exchanging gifts, and dressing up to take photos, something my son's in-laws love to do. We would have gone to church, otherwise. People of Latino, Filipino, and Hispanic cultures make Christmas Eve the focus of the celebration; Epiphany, or Three Kings' Day, is the bookend of the "twelve days" of Christmas. Apparently they believe that is the day Jesus war born. My granddaughter was born on January 6. Not a good day for political history, but a good day in Christian tradition and for her as a member of the Mexican-American community.
Whatever your culture's patterns, Merry Christmas!
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