This is our second Christmas we have spent in Nicaragua. Last year was our first time here and we knew very little Spanish and we were only here for three weeks by then so we just went to a hotel on Ometepe and had a great time. We even got invited to the lodge owners family dinner and festivities, but we respectfully declined the offer as we again knew next to no Spanish and with the exception of the owners son(who invited us) none of the others knew any English. Regardless, Ange and I, had a great time.
This year was a little different. We have a better understanding of Spanish and can even converse in it a little bit, a very small wee tiny little bit, but some none the less. So we ventured out into Rivas to see what Christmas was like. A few friends of ours said you need to go to central park and enjoy the festivities on Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve is the big day here for celebrations.
In the weeks leading up to Christmas the celebrate they the "Virgins" with local community parades. Our house is on a side street so the parades did not go past our house. Maybe next year we will be more adventurous and go out and see them, it is tough to totally include ourselves into customs, especially religious customs, when we are not locals and don't know the language enough to openly converse with religious Nicaraguan neighbours. So with that I have no pictures to share. But they also decorate the local parks with nativity scenes and lights and bows and candy canes.
The Nativity Scene in the Central Park in San Jorge.
In Rivas they decorate the main boulevard that leads to central park and the main Catholic church with festive LED Christmas trees.
This lighting was at least 3 blocks long.
They look way better in real life than they do in my pictures. The central park is the main event centre for the Christmas festivities. There are horses and ponies to take your picture on, there is clown making balloons for the kids, vendors selling last minute gifts and tasty treats. The park is alight with miles of led lighting displays. In the Gazebo there is a pretty grand looking nativity scene set up for taking Christmas photos in and of.
Boulevard lighting was three blocks long.
Central Park
The Clown
Rivas' Nativity Scene
We arrived at about five in the evening and walked around the park and checked it all out. Then we found a nice restaurant with a large covered street side seating area to have dinner and watch the festivities at the park.
The park never really got busy. And then a pretty good rain shower rolled in. Luckily we were still enjoying our dinner and were under cover for that. Rains down here don't typically last to long but they usually let go with some water and wind. After the rain abated and we cleared our debt for dinner and drinks we ventured back over the park. But, it seemed people were coming and going, the crowd never seemed to be amassing. So we assumed that was it, people came and saw the decorations and went home for the rest of their family celebrations. So after a little bit we decided to go home ourselves.
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A Nicaraguan Blizzard
As we walked home a few people were out walking from here or there, a few were out lighting off some fire works. So we erroneously assumed that was how it was and when we got home we went and laid down in bed and watched a movie on the computer. As we were just nicely nodding of to the sounds of our neighbours having dinner and drinks, after a few minutes we were startled awake by the ever increasing sounds of fireworks being let off and cheering and shouting in the streets.
As the Christmas poem goes "We jumped of bed to see what ’twas the matter" and we sat on our front porch watched as our neighbourhood erupted with colourful explosion after colourful explosion. This went on for about half an hour before it dwindled down to a bomb here and an odd one there. As we climbed back into bed we both thought " I think we left the park a few hours too early". Oh well there will be next year.
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Just an Idea, Our Neighbourhood Was Much More Intense
We closed our Christmas celebration the on Christmas day with a couple of friends two beer can chickens, fresh carrots, canned corn mashed potatoes. For dessert we had tres leche and banana bread.
Can hardly wait till next Christmas....I know its only the twenty sixth, but just like a little kid I have more visions of sugar plums dancing in my head.
Merry Christmas to everyone!!