Tag Archives: Christmas tradition

Mexican Christmas Tradition “Baby Jesus”

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 20
Residence: Colorado
Performance Date: 4-17-19
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

Main Piece: “It is important to note that before I talk about our traditions, Mexico is super Catholic… Way more catholic than United States. One of the most popular traditions that we do on Christmas is everyone has a life size baby Jesus, and every Christmas you are supposed to ‘wake him up’ at midnight… And at midnight, you pick up Baby Jesus, and you rock him and sing songs and everybody kisses him and they sing traditional catholic songs. Then you buy him clothes and have clothes specially made for him, and shoes, and it is expected that you prepare all these things before midnight. There are roles that every person in the family has, and the role of the Godfather is very important. The Godfather has to buy clothes, and make sure that those things are prepared for baby Jesus . The roles can change every three years. Additionally, people would make food for everyone and doors are open to anyone. If they sit down at the table, they can eat. We would make a ton of food, and have candy too so that kids who come to the doors could receive candy. Then on Feb 6. You put baby Jesus back to sleep, with a similar ritual that is big of a deal as Christmas Day.”

 

Background: UV grew up in Mexico, so this was a very important part of his life growing up. As UV mentions in the telling of the traditions they practiced, Mexico is incredibly Catholic and so those aspects of the religion, especially as related to big Catholic holidays, were very important to him and his family. He said that in addition to Mexico being far more Catholic, Mexico is far more community based. The practices they had for their holidays were all about gathering with family, and even bringing anybody in from the community that needed a place to be for the holidays. UV said that these traditions meant a lot to him because they emphasized the cultural importance of family and community, and it was nice for him to be able to create those bonds with everyone.

 

Context of the Performance: UV told me this story while we were hanging out at my apartment and talking about the different traditions and things we would do for our holidays. Because Christmas is his favorite holiday, he was more than happy to tell me about these traditions, and he was equally as happy to hear the differences that occur between Christmas in Mexico, and the Christmas that I celebrate in America.

 

Analysis: I found this Christmas tradition to be very indicative of the the cultural emphasis that Mexico places on both religion and community. This tradition of the baby Jesus perfectly encapsulates both of these in a nice neat bow. The idea that it is the family’s responsibility to ensure that baby Jesus has everything he needs for when he comes into the world is a very familial way to show the importance of religion in Mexico. Additionally, I find this tradition to further emphasize the importance of community and kindness. UV mentions that if anyone came to a house, it was custom to make sure that the guest was fed. They would even leave doors unlocked and in some cases wide open, further encouraging people to join in on the festivities. This is very different from American Christmas, in the sense that America is a bit more tight knit and really only spends the time with close relatives. It is very uncommon for Americans to leave their doors open and just accept anyone and everyone from the community to come in and join them for the festivities. At least from my experience, I have never talked to anyone who does this in their house for Christmas in America, and I certainly have never done it in my household. This difference further accentuates the difference in cultural emphasis on community building, and furthers the divide between community and individualism which is far more apparent in America than Mexico.

Heiliger Abend

Nationality: German-American
Age: 53
Occupation: Chief Retail Sales and Bottler Operations Officer at Coca-Cola
Residence: Atlanta, Georgia
Performance Date: 3/1/19
Primary Language: German
Language: English

Main piece: In the informant’s family, they celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve rather than the normal American practice of opening presents Christmas morning. They call this Heiliger Abend, or Weihnachten, which translates to Holy Night. When a family’s children are young, all gifts from family members were exchanged during Heiliger Abend, while gifts from Santa (mainly gifts to the kids) are opened on Christmas morning. However, if the of the children grow up and therefore move away from the Santa myth, each present gets opened on Christmas Eve. During Heiliger Abend, pierogi and potato salad is served, and whole family gathers together to sing Christmas Carols (both in English and German).

Context: The informant (DB) is a first generation immigrant from Germany; her mother is from Silesia, Germany, and her father is from what was previously known as East Prussia, so she is fluent in both German and English. She was raised Christian but does not consider herself very religious. She grew up in Orlando, Florida, has two kids, and currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia. Our conversation took place while eating quesadillas for lunch in our home in Atlanta. DB said that the custom of Heiliger Abend originates from her German roots, but that she adapted the traditions to her modern, American family. DB has kept the tradition alive because, as a child, it took her a long time to realize that celebrating Christmas on Christmas Eve was abnormal in the U.S – “it never occured to me that Christmas in the morning would be any fun anyway.” She feels very close to the rest of her family in Germany when she celebrates Heiliger Abend as well as her family in America, as the tradition feels intimate and unique. “As you get older, it isn’t even about the presents anymore – it’s about the experience.”   

Personal thoughts: DB does not perform some key traditional practices commonly associated with Heiliger Abend (i.e. placing a boot outside for Saint Nicholas on December 5th, attending a church service the morning of December 24th, ringing a bell to signal the arrival of presents), which perhaps speaks to the ways in which modernity causes individuals to shave down their traditions to make them more palatable or modern. However, DB has also added a tradition of her own that make her Heiliger Abend unique – Christmas Caroling, which is certainly not a simple or easy tradition to perform. Hence, maybe the informant is simply customizing traditions to her own liking rather than feeling forced to cut certain actions out; modernity can be used and viewed as a tool for evolution, rather than a weapon for deconstructing age-old traditions.

White Elephant

Nationality: Irish-American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Athens, Georgia
Performance Date: 3/15/19
Primary Language: English

Main piece: In White Elephant, each family member buys a gift – some are perverted, some are not – and they all go into a random pile. Everyone picks a number that determines what order people pick their gifts in. The person with number one will be the first person to pick a gift, and the next person in line can choose whether to steal that gift or take their chances with a random pick from the pile. If somebody’s gift is stolen, they can choose another gift in the pile or steal from another player. This continues down the line, and everyone besides the first person will get a chance to choose a new gift or steal any previously-picked gifts when their turn comes, until the end.

Context: The informant is half Irish and half American. Her mother’s side of the family is originally from and still resides in Atlanta, Georgia. Her paternal extended family live in Sligo, Ireland. She grew up culturally Catholic, but she does not consider herself religious. Our conversation took place in February on my couch at home in Atlanta after she began recounting her recent trip to visit family in Ireland. BN believes that the game originated in the the Southeast, as she originally learned of the game through her mother’s family. She’s always remembered it because they play the game every Christmas without fail, and the outrageous or sometimes provocative gifts are always memorable. BN cites the time her grandmother received a vibrating hairbrush, an innuendo that was laughed at among the adults without fully exposing the younger family members to “adult things” – after all, it is just a hairbrush, and no one is willing to let the impressionable children in on the joke.  

Personal thoughts: Oftentimes, people put extensive money, time and consideration into the gifts they buy their loved ones; modern society has convinced us that monetary value is one of the sole factors of worth. White Elephant forces people out of their narrow mindsets for what constitutes a good gift for someone. Gifts should not always be about giving a valuable or sought-after item, and this simple game teaches individuals how to appreciate a gift they didn’t necessarily want or ask for. It is about presently enjoying your time with your family, laughing at the unexpected moments, and going into a situation free of expectations. Moreover, while innuendo is often used to cloak satire or criticism, BN’s family uses innuendo to poke fun at each other in a lighthearted way, in which everyone bonds by sharing the same embarrassment, a concept reminiscent of practical jokes at weddings.