Christmas, 2019
Where I grew up (Port Angeles, Washington), we went into the woods to 'hunt' for our Christmas tree, chop it down (or top a tree), bring it home, decorate it, and wait for the mounds of gifts to appear on Christmas day. We listened to holiday songs from the record player (78's and 33's) and the radio tuned into an AM station broadcasting Virginia Peterson playing the organ from Birney's restaurant in town. I always called in and requested she play 'Silver Bells', which she did. Everything was about Santa, Elves, and Reindeer. There was always one evening we would hop in the car and drive around town to admire a handful of houses lavishly decorated in lights. Sometimes we'd have snow. Christmas morning was about opening gifts, devouring sausage, bacon, biscuits, etc and then Christmas evening was the big dinner where we gorged some more.
I assumed everybody had the same routine!! What did I know?? I lived in a small town of 12,000 people and never travelled further than Seattle, 80 miles away!!
Fast forward.
When I was 18, I moved to San Diego, California. There, you purchased your tree from a parking lot stacked with trees trucked in from elsewhere. The attire for shopping and pretty much any outdoor holiday event was shorts and tank tops! It was odd caroling through the neighborhood singing about snow (dashing through it), winter wonderland, and the weather outside being frightful...when indeed you could still go to the beach and work on your tan.
Fast forward.
In 2011, I moved to Cuenca, Ecuador (South America). Again, no snow. The first few years, I was shocked there was very little holiday lighting by the city, businesses, or even in homes!! Christmas trees were pretty much non-existent as the forests there were made of pine and eucalptus...though fake trees were available in stores but you clutched your heart when you looked at the price! I don't think I saw any images of Santa either. It was funny to hear Christmas songs played in stores because they were 'the old standards' in English! Silent Night, Joy to World, White Christmas. Don't they have Christmas songs unique to the Spanish culture? Not really, not unless you count Feliz Navidad!! Gift shopping was nowhere NEAR the vapid, get-outa-my-way mentality like in the USA. In fact, if kids got gifts, it was usually ONE and many times it would be candy. Friends and family often purchased gift baskets at the grocery stores and stuffed them with goods like fruit, bread, coffee, candy, canned food, etc.
Christmas in Cuenca was about the children and church...not materialism. They had a HUGE parade that lasted hours involving (slowwwww moving) trucks decorated with the expertise level of a senior prom, a gagillion kids dressed like angels, kings, and shepherds, along with horses and donkeys draped in colorful strings of candy, fruit, and bottles. A few 'floats' also had dead pigs.
With each passing year that I was there (2011 - 2018) more and more lights were put up by the city in the old central and down along the river. Even Santa started to show up in both images and an appearance in the parade. Commercialism was creeping in and mixing with the old culture.
Fast forward.
Present day (2019). What is Christmas like in Mallorca, Spain? Very different. Again, no snow. Same English Christmas songs in the air at the mall. No Santa Claus's in the malls. No dead trees to buy at a lot. Orange, lemon, olive, almond, and palm trees are not known for making good Christmas trees. In fact, I didn't see many trees, albeit fake, in homes either...maybe due to space since the majority live in apartments. Though it was common to see lights strung across balconies, it's the lights the city puts up that are 'wowsers'!!!
In late November, utility trucks with hydraulic bucket lift come out of the woodwork. Workers wrap tree trunks and limbs with white lights, pre-fabricated panels to poles and across intersections. There's a few streets where they've shaped the trees so the limbs stretch across the street to almost touch those on the other side, creating a tunnel effect.
The city puts on a special event during the first week of December when all the lights are turned on. Thousands fill the streets to watch the spectacular and listen to musical performances from giant stages erected around the city. For the next 30 days or so, all sorts of performances are held in plazas, temporary stages, and theaters.
In several of the larger plazas, workers install pre-fabbed kiosks creating outdoor Christmas markets. Nearby, you'll always find trailers selling churros, chocolates, and deep fried beignets. Next to the bus/train station, a small carnival comes to life with an ice-rink and children-sized ferris wheel and other rides.
Here, Christmas doesn't end on December 25th. It continues into January with the focus on the Three Kings Day (this year, January 6th), celebrated in memory of the three wise men who brought gold, frankincense and myrrh to the baby Jesus. This is the 'biggie'. It's this day when kids get most of their gifts (they might get one gift on Christmas day). In Palma the Three Kings arrive via boat, then a large parade of floats (many with live musical performers) take off and wind their way through old town with each tossing candy to the crowds. At the end of the parade, the Three Kings appear on a balcony and wave to the thousands gathered below. One thing NOT in the parade? Santa Claus. One thing NOT said between two people? "Happy Holidays".
Here's some photos and video of our Christmas celebrations.
Looking down the street I live on.
Born...the most beautiful street and plaza in Palma. It's lined with high-end stores housed in gorgeous architecture, sidewalk cafes, and fountains. It's one of the plazas where major music and festival events are staged.
This is the first year I attended the Three Kings parade. What a turnout...tens of thousands!! I walked from my apartment down to Plaza Born to watch, but I was late as the parade had already started.
Here's a video of the parade! Ok, so it's about 15 minutes long, but worth it!! Grab a hot chocolate, glass of wine, or tequila and enjoy!
Merry Christmas! (English)
Feliz Navidad! (Spanish)
Bon Nadal! (Catalan)
Joyeux Noël! (French)
Frohe Weihnachten! (German)
Dano
