...to a Caraqueña Christmas

Braving the sea of humanity in Sabana Grande (an avenida with MANY little markets, stores, and malls), I've emerged triumphant from my shopping trip with some slightly fashionista outdoorsy pants (it would have been financial suicide to buy clothes from the VZ equivalent of REI here - VERY expensive) and thick socks.  I'm fairly certain half of the entire population of Venezuela is currently in the capital city.  The city swells in the weeks before Christmas.  Shop owners from "El Interior" of the country come to buy clothes and sell them (marked-up, of course) back home.  Prices are already high as stores take advantage of the Christmas-season buying frenzy.  There are certain little Venezuelan traditions that ensure that ever year is a good year for retail.  For example:

Everyone has a new outfit for New Year's celebrations.  Might as well bring in the new year looking smashing in some brand-new ropa!

• As a subset for the new clothes, there's another excellent Venezuelan tradition involving ropa interior (underwear):  welcoming the new year in yellow underwear is supposed to bring you good luck.  I'm not sure whether this is good luck for your sex life or life in general (I've been told both), but either way, probably better to just hedge your bets and buy a pair.  I was in a store today that had an entire section set aside for yellow undies of allll shapes and sizes

Other fun Venezuelan holiday traditions include (these are pulled from a presentation I did to students at the CVA about American and Venezuelan Christmases):

Venezuelans paint their houses (inside and out) over Christmas.  It's a tradition that involves the whole family, music and cervezas.  How awesome to have a new room color every year!

While you will hear some Christmas carols here, the Venezuelan Christmas music is known as 'gaitas' - lively upbeat music (not actually about Christmasy topics) coming from Maracaibo.  Also, all the national channels (ABC/CBS/NBC equivalents)  write and perform (with the help of the TV personalities and actors from the station) full Christmas songs that are played constantly during the month of December. The stations usually compete with each other for the most popular songs.  This one from RCTV (a station  no longer in existence after they got on the wrong side of the Presidente) is actually pretty awesome: RCTV Christmas Song

Venezuelans celebrate Christmas on the 24th.  They spend the evening of the 24th with the family and, after midnight, hit the town, visiting friends, going to the discoteques, and basically partying all night.  Some Venezuelan friends who have been in the USA for Christmas told me how bored they were by the much quieter American Christmas Eve.

You can definitely find Santa hanging around malls, ready to listen to what the kiddies want for Christmas.  HOWEVER, while Santa has trickled down here from the US, it's the Niño Jesus (Baby Jesus) who has always brought the presents.  Yes.  The baby Jesus comes to your house.  I'm not sure how...no one is very clear on that bit (there's no back-story like Santa coming down the chimney).  Does he crawl in a window?  Magic himself through the door?  I smile every time I hear an exasperated mother ask her kid to 'ask the Baby Jesus' for the present and stop pestering her.

Christmas food (platos navideños) consist of Ayacas (tamales with meat, chicken, olives, and raisins), Pernil (pork), Pan de jamon (a sweet-bread sandwich with ham, olives and raisins), and ensalada de gallina (the best chicken salad you've ever had in your life).

I'll be happy when the city calms down a little bit after the 24th, but it's been interesting.  Still, I didn't realize until yesterday how much I missed me some American Christmas - some of the students at CVA El Centro did a presentation involving lots of carols.  I'll be coming down a mountain on the 25th.  My fellow ETAs better be ready to sing their way down...