Christmas is just around the corner, although we've been hearing and seeing signs of it for months now. Every country and every person celebrates Christmas in their own way. In my country, Christmas was declared to begin on October 1, and many cities have already kicked off the season by lighting up some of their most significant landmarks.
This year in my city, it took place on October 1st at Plaza Bolivar. It is still unknown if it will take place at Mirador Angostura at the bottom of Paseo Orinoco, but it has already started at Plaza Bolivar. I had the opportunity to go last Saturday, October 11th, with my children, a little niece, and our pet.
They have been doing this in the plaza for several years now, but I had never attended, especially at night, which is when it is most worthwhile, because the beauty of Christmas is the lights at night, when everything is beautiful. It is like being in another country where you see these beautifully decorated places.
We arrived while it was still light out, and the lights weren't on yet, but even so, with the decorative figures, the plaza looked beautiful. There were already other people there. I think that if I lived nearby in the historic district, I would go to the plaza every day to see the lights and listen to the church bells, since the cathedral is right next door.
At 6 p.m., the lights come on. It must be a large control system because they all turn on at the same time, and the lighting is beautiful.
The main feature is the giant tree, which you have to walk far back to capture in a photo. It's really beautiful, just lights without decorations.
Then people arrive selling sweets, drinks, and light-up toys.
Children run around on roller skates, bicycles, and skateboards. There are also many pets, mostly dogs of different sizes and breeds.
Since I brought a Christmas cape costume, I put it on my niece and took some pictures of her. She was happy; it was her first Christmas outing. Her mother works at night, and I know it would be difficult for her to take her to the plaza.
I'm sure there will be another opportunity and we'll go again. What was missing was Christmas music, carols, and bagpipes.
All photos taken with my Samsung Galaxy A16 cell phone and my Sony camera.
Cover edited in Canva.
Translation with the DeepL app.