Christ in Christmas

I wanted to post this earlier, but in the rush of activities, visitors and other plans, I didn't even have a chance to sit at the computer since last Wednesday.

Living in a very religious country, the Nativity scene is still so very popular in many cities, plazas, malls, homes, stores, or just about anywhere. You can buy the ceramic figurines and little straw stables on the street corners the whole month of December.

In the past couple of years, Santa Claus, presents, and the Christmas tree have become more popular, but it's still comforting to see Christ still in Christmas here in Paraguay...even though He may not be around in the cities, plazas, malls, homes and stores the REST of the year.

And...good thing He's in OUR HOUSE all year long!!!

Christmas decorations

I promised my aunt I would take a picture of my boxwood wreath...just like she taught me!
It's so cool! I wish I would have thought of this years ago!
It's on my front door bringing Christmas cheer to all of us!
I have so many things to write about and such little time. Pictures will have to do for now. I have Oscar's family (cousins) with us for Christmas. I am preparing - already!
Our parties start tomorrow and the family meal is on the 24th. Everyone bakes, cooks, and grills double so you don't have to work on Christmas day. Plus, traditionally, you have to share a plateful of your Christmas meal with your neighbors and they also give you a plateful of their goodies. We planning on going to La Quinta with Oscar's family. Have a great Christmas!

Sights of Christmas

Christmas Decorations At the Mariscal Lopez Mall

Christmas Program

Edson was a little pastor in our Christmas program this year. While they were getting their outfits on he came running out, crying, because he didn't want to put this stuff on. He wasn't too sure about this pinchy-halo thing. So, he sat with us for a while until it was his time to perform.
While the kids were doing a beautiful choreography, I focused in on Edson in the back...doing his part, I guess.
Watch the movie clip below and ... Enjoy!
Merry Christmas!

More Christmas Traditions...(mine)

1. Gather together with family…a family reunion, listen to music, play games, tell stories.
2. Prepare “Sopa Paraguaya” (Recipe below) in abundance, just in case you get visitors. Sopa Paraguaya is a very Paraguayan cornbread with cheese and onions. It will be served at any special occasion like birthdays, holidays, weddings, and especially, Christmas and New Year’s.
3. Prepare extra food to share with neighbors. I send a plate over to their house; they send a plate of their Christmas meal back to our house. (People don’t really do a gift exchange, but they do share their food.)
4. Eat a late night meal on the 24th.
5. Go house-to-house on the 24th at midnight to greet all your neighbors with a kiss and wish them a “Merry Christmas”.
6. Have a “toast” at midnight wishing everyone in your family a “Merry Christmas”.
7. Watch fireworks all over town until about 1:30 am.
8. Go to bed! Christmas is a holiday…you can sleep in!
SOPA PARAGUAYA (Paraguayan Cornbread)
1 lb. onions
1 tsp salt
¾ c fat (lard, butter or oil)
2 cups of cheese – soft, white (farmer’s cheese)
2 cups curdled milk
5 cups corn flour (polenta)
4 eggs
1. Chop the onions finely, set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, beat the fat until foamy. Add the eggs one by one, the cheese (grated very finely) and the onions. Beat well after each addition.
3. Add the milk then the corn flour.
4. Put in a deep-dish pan, buttered and floured, cook at 350ºC until golden.

A Quick Post...

...although not written by me. It's interesting.

Christmas in Paraguay is celebrated in a deeply religious way. The main focus of the season is the pesebre or nativity scene which is found in both the home and in churches. December is the summer season in South America, and there is a profusion of flowers growing everywhere at this time of year. Churches and homes are decorated in bright colors to match the flowers. On Christmas Eve, church bells beckon the people to church at midnight for La Misa Del Gallo or the Mass of the Rooster. The Christmas feasting begins when family and friends return home from Mass. On January 6, the feast of the Epiphany, it is the Three Kings who bring gifts for the children of Paraguay. On the night before Epiphany, children set out their shoes with letters to the kings.
http://www.ompersonal.com.ar/omchristmas2/christmas.htm

LATIN AMERICA: CHRISTMAS IN PARAGUAY

Mom...this is for your 4th grade class.

LATIN AMERICA: CHRISTMAS IN PARAGUAY Christmas in PARAGUAY is Christmas of the Coco Flower. You can see this lovely flower blooming everywhere and smell its scent carried far in the warm night. Since it is summer, other flowers also bloom and homes and churches are decorated in bright colors to match the flowers.
Once your pesebre (Nativity scene) is set up - often with figurines from all over the house - you will be ready to plan the Noche Buena ("Good Night" - Christmas Eve).
On Christmas Eve, church bells beckon you at midnight for La Misa Del Gallo or the Mass of the Rooster.
After Midnight Mass, you'll come home to a wonderful dinner - surrounded by family and friends. Everyone wishes each other "Feliz Navidad - Jesus nacio!" - Merry Christmas - Jesus is born!
On January 6th, the Feast of the Epiphany, don't forget to put your shoes out (with a letter tucked inside) for the Three Kings. If you’ve been good, they'll bring you gifts!
Posted By: cheriedas@aol.com Date Posted: 03-09-2005

http://www.handsaroundtheworld.com/

The Feel of Christmas

The feel of Christmas in Paraguay is hot! Snowmen would melt instantly! (Once, my sister sent us fake snow. That was fun to play around with. It didn’t melt, but it got real dirty.) People have more time…its summer.
They sit out on their sidewalks with tereré, freshly-squeezed juice and/or “gaseosa” (pop). If you walk by, they may invite you to stay and sit with them a while to talk about family, jobs, the government, or the heat.
In Paraguay (in my opinion) it seems that Christmas is all about quality time and sharing. If you are there long enough (at your neighbor’s) they may bring out Pan Dulce or Panettone…fruitcake-type bread. Check it out in this link if you’re interested in making it. http://www.squidoo.com/how-to-make-panettone Stores are stacked to the ceiling with this type of Pan de Navidad (Christmas Bread).
When you are not out shopping for gifts, food or preparing for the celebration, Christmas is a time to enjoy leisure time and family. We can sit outside on a “cool” night and eat a refreshing watermelon (for $1 to $2 each). We take a walk. We buy ice-cream. The rush of the school routine is over. Yes. It feels like Christmas.
How wonderful it is to feel Christ…not only at Christmas, but daily and in our lives! How great to believe in Christmas…in Christ, his promises, his victory, and his salvation.

The Taste of Christmas

The Taste of Christmas is nothing like a US dinner: Here are a couple of recipes that you could try for a “cool” Paraguayan meal served at 12:00 midnight (on the 24th)!

Milanesas – fried (Chicken Fried Steak)
2 lb. beef (round steak, loin)
Salt, pepper, garlic, nutmeg, oregano, lemon juice or vinegar
2 eggs
½ cup milk
Flour
Bread crumbs
Oil
Cut the meat in thin slices and pound each side. Season. Beat the eggs and add the milk. Dip the meat first in the flour, then the egg mixture, and then in the bread crumbs. Heat enough oil in a frying pan to cover the meat. Fry until brown, turn and brown the other side.

Chipa Guasu (Creamy corn custard)
1 ½ dozen ears of fresh corn cut off the cob but not cooked
3 eggs
¾ cups milk
1 medium onion, chopped
1 ½ cup shredded Farmer’s cheese (mozzarella will be fine)
¼ cup oil
Salt to taste
Cut the corn off the cob and add it together with the eggs and milk. Blend in a blender until creamy. Pour into a bowl and add the onion, cheese, oil and salt. Bake at 350 F until golden brown.

Ensalada de Arroz (Rice Salad)
2 cups of uncooked rice
4 cups of water
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons of oil
Salt to taste
Cook until rice is done. Set aside to cool.
Add the following ingredients and mix well:
1 small onion, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
1 small red pepper
Parsley chopped fine
½ cup mayonnaise

Clericó (Wine and Fruit Punch)
This fruit salad is served traditionally at Christmas and New Year’s Eve parties.
1 bottle dry red wine or Cider Champagne
Sugar to taste (about 1/3 cup)
Melon
Grapes
Pineapple
Banana
Apples
Peaches
Chop the fruit very small. Mix all the ingredients. Refrigerate.

Budin de Pan (Bread Pudding)
3 small loaves of bread with no crusts
3 cups of milk
3 eggs
½ teaspoon of vanilla
1 cup of sugar
Grated lemon peel
Soak the bread in the milk. Cut bread into pieces. Add the eggs (beaten lightly), sugar, and vanilla. Caramelize ¾ cup of sugar. (Heat sugar in pan until caramel color, stir so it won’t burn) Pour caramel into a mold and then add the bread mixture. Set in a larger pan with water and bake at 350 F (approx. 1 hour) or until knife comes out clean. Cool 30 minutes and remove from mold. Serve cold.

Chipa (Cheese bread)
16 ounces Mandioca starch (tapioca or manioc flour) about 3 ½ cups
Salt and anise – to taste
1/2 cup Sunflower seed oil
3/4 cup low fat milk
3 eggs, large
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1-3/4 cups Mild cheddar, grated
Bring milk and oil to a boil in a small saucepan. Add to the mandioca flour. Mix and allow to cool a little. Incorporate the eggs, one at a time. Add the cheese and blend well. Divide into pieces the size of a walnut or small plum. Place a little oil on the hands and round dough into balls. Arrange on a baking sheet. Bake at 375 F until done, about 10 to 12 minutes. Serve warm.

Have fun! Merry Christmas!!

The Look of Christmas

Because of all the outside influences of icicle lights, Santas and snowmen; people in Paraguay DO use all these as decorations. But one thing that most homes also have is a pesebre, a nativity scene. People still decorate and over-decorate their homes. People set out blown-up Santas and plastic snowmen. It looks kind of silly, but it LOOKS like Christmas that way.
I have snowmen hanging up at home. They are beautiful reminders of my childhood. They are treasures that I DO remember…they are not silly at my house, oh NO…they are my memories. I hung up my stockings, but not by a fireplace. (Plus, I am missing one…mom!) I set out my candles (trying to make things warmer, I guess.) My house is beginning to LOOK like Christmas.
In this country, Christmas is Christ’s birth celebration. Santa Clauses and reindeers are cute decorations, but the TRUE message is still the MAIN message…Christ is born.

The Sound of Christmas

Once again, the pops and bangs remind us of the holiday season in Paraguay. Little firecrackers (and BIG..the dangerous, illegal in US, ones) are popping all day long as soon as children wake up in the morning and until they go to sleep at night. They put them in bottles to make them sound big and deep. They put them onto long poles to make them shoot higher. They light them, they scream, they run, dogs bark, etc. It's the Christmas blast!
No jingle bells in Paraguay, just bangs and noise. People are happy. It's Christmas! Paraguay is a religious country. It is the birth of our Savior! Let's CELEBRATE! How? Making a joyful NOISE!
CHRIST, THE SAVIOR, IS BORN!

The Smell of Christmas

I am not sure why, but Paraguayans love the Coconut flower. It is placed in front of their nativity scenes and sold on the streets all throughout the month of December. Today we went Christmas Shopping with Jason and in almost every street corner there were vendors selling these huge three feet long flowers. While Jason and I were thinking of peppermint, chocolate and cinnamon, Oscar was thinking that this flower reminds him of Christmas.
I started looking some things up online when I got home and found out some interesting information. I stumbled on a discription of it written in a blog by a "half Paraguayan-half American" at http://www.guidetoparaguay.com/2008/11/coconut-flower-for-christmas-flor-de.html

Today is December 5

The streets of Paraguay are alive with Christmas preparations.
Some of the visual differences from a Northern Christmas are that here in Paraguay there is vivid color (some times even gaudy!) The streets are full of lights, bells, candy canes, angels, Santa Claus faces, etc. The sidewalks are full of nativity scene sets, different sizes of thatched-roofed houses (to place your figurines in), sparklers, fireworks, watermelons and fruits.
I saw a dead tree today. It was all chopped up, but it was decorated with bows, huge ornaments and Christmas lights. I didn’t like it! It looked bad! But, it probably made its owner soo happy…to see it all colorful like that.
Stores are getting stocked with Christmas decorations, fruitcakes, turrones (a peanut-taffy bar), and pop (or soda…for those of you not from Ohio). Toys will be on sale after Christmas because (in Paraguay) it is really the “KINGS” who bring the presents on January 6th.
There is excitement, a sort of happiness in the air. School is out! It’s summer. Family get-togethers and end-of-the-year parties are being planned. Its vacation time…rest, relax, sleep in, and celebrate! Twenty days till Christmas!

Holiday Season Already???

The holiday season seems so busy and yet, we didn't really even start yet. Right?
The parties at our house begin in November. Gaby and Edson have birthdays followed by Thanksgiving. We had a youth picnic with our church at Ñu Guazu Park by the airport. We always have an end of the year school program at Colegio Adonai for the students and a different day for the teachers. We were invited to an IBA graduation. The next day we were off to Ciudad del Este for a wedding and a baptism. We are preparing for a teachers get-together this week.
Things are hectic already and it is not even Christmas!
I am already planning meals and activities!
I am stashing my freezer with water-filled pop bottles...for ice and cold water. (I'll write about that in another blog)
I think I am ALREADY ready to just sit down and enjoy Jesus instead of preparing and planning how we are going to celebrate his birth.

It smells like Christmas!

It’s December…well, things have been getting hotter, in Paraguay, anyway. People will say (funny) things like…ummmm, it smells like Christmas! How strange! I smell sweaty bodies mixed with an aroma of flowers, food, exhaust. WHAT smells like Christmas?
When we talk about Christmas smells, I imagine cinnamon, peppermint, chocolate, cookies baking in the oven, evergreens, etc. I think of pies or bread baking and can even “smell” that in my mind. I picture oranges and nuts in the bags we used to make for the Sunday school program and smell the different scents in my mind…THAT is what Christmas smells like to me. What about the crisp smell of new fallen snow or the smell of gloves or scarves that have been tucked away for a year? Smelling fireword, sitting by a fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate milk…ummm…that smells like Christmas!
Here in Paraguay the sign or smell of Christmas is the aroma of coconut flowers. People even bring one into their home carefully placing it under their Christmas tree or by their Nativity scene…ahh…the smell of Christmas! Little firecrackers and the smell of sulphur it leaves behind…that’s the smell of Christmas! Barbeques (asado), outdoor grilling, fruit salad…this is the smell of Christmas!
My senses are all mixed up! It doesn’t feel like Christmas…its 100º. It doesn’t look like Christmas…there are trees full in bloom and everything is ripe with colors. It doesn’t taste like Christmas…the flavors are all different! Chocolate even melts at room temperature. It doesn’t sound like Christmas…it’s too loud, full of firecrackers, different music. Sorry…it just DOESN’T smell like Christmas…