This is a month long celebration of Christmas from December 1 to 25. In general, this is a party where everyone drinks every night, skip school for a few days, and have a huge party. Everyone goes to bed at 5 am everyday, and there are fireworks and canciones about Jesus being born. It is supposed to be about family and people being thankful for each other being in America. It has a lot of religious significance and has more meaning than most.

Analysis

My informant says most Colombians practice this in America, and that all the Colombian families in San Diego would do this. His great-grandparents, grandparents and parents would come over and celebrate this with him with lots of Colombian ‘cumbia’, or Spanish music. He believes that this festival makes him feel special because he has his own kind of Christmas which is uniquely Colombian and brings him closer to his national identity. In my opinion, this is a festival whose original meaning seems to have been replaced with letting go and partying all day, which shows how traditions can change as time passes on.