Thursday 25th December 2014…….Joy to the world and peace on earth!!!!!

Good morning and a wonderful healthy, happy and peaceful Christmas day wishes to all my fantastic readers….we have been on this blog journey almost 8 years the friends I have made astound me…the vistas I have seen leave me “gob smacked” (Google it ) and I am blessed to have the most supportive and loving family possible……I am also blessed with health that allows me to pursue the lifestyle I have chosen and enough pesos to be comfortable………

 

I did not get to bed till almost 1am waiting for Santa to arrive but he must be confused about where I live!!!!!!!!!!  This morning I did something I never do I was still in bed at 9am!!!!!!

It was a lovely sunny morning and I put on my hiking shoes and did a stroll down to the presa(lake)…it was wonderful.

I then went and played Santa  going to Catalina’s home where I left some gifts for her Grand children and her…..Catalina has been cleaning the casa here for over 7 years and she is lovely a hard worker and paramount in her life are her family…she was thrilled to see me and the children oh so wonderful.

From there I went to Rafael's  house, Rafael has been doing the gardens here at the house for the same length of time as Catalina…he is always on time, always smiling and takes good care of the grounds….he lives unfortunately in a very small three room shack with a tin roof..he is married and his wife is lovely as are the two kids a boy 8 and a girl 14….I took them some gifts this morning including soccer balls for the kids..the smiles made my day!!!!!

Next stop was to the flower stand to buy a lovely bouquet of flowers for Rita, her son Josh who I met last month e mailed me and asked if I would take the flowers to his Mum and have a card from him and his sister Ali, so I did and the flowers are gorgeous!!!

Then I went to the restaurant where I had ordered two Christmas dinners, a full traditional meal with dessert and then home to get changed and cleaned up and at 2pm went to Rita’s casa.

She is such a great friend and we put the dinners in the oven to warm up while we caught up on all our news…..the dinner…………two words….simply fantastic….just my kind of a meal and the dessert…mmmmmm

We played our usual card card and because it was Christmas I let Rita win……right!!!!!!!!!

What a lovely afternoon we had…. so special.

My brother and Janet have three children and a grandson and they were all going to the Mark’s house for dinner, wish I could have made an appearance…love to you all. I did manage to connect with Malc and Janet on Skype this evening always great to talk to them!!

Forgot to mention yesterday Sara gave me three wonderful Xmas presents last night so kind of her..a nice denim shirt a great Wayne Gretzky memorabilia mounted on a lovely frame and then this special print!!!

She has a very talented artist friend that painted this portrait and when I saw it I asked her to ask her friend if she would sell me a copy because this man who has now passed away used to live across the street from where I play tennis and I saw him often and used to help carry things down the steps into his house for him…he had such a hard time walking and the stick in his left hand is actually a pick axe that he turned upside down…he was a warrior…so I shall get this framed and be proud to own it …thanks.

Tonight is going to be movie night………

Best wishes to you all……blessings les

 

 

Christmas in Mexico

In Mexico, Christmas is celebrated from the December 12th to January 6th.

From December 16th to Christmas Eve, children often perform the 'Posada' processions or Posadas. Posada is Spanish for Inn or Lodging. There are nine Posadas. These celebrate the part of the Christmas story where Joseph and Mary looked for a room in an Inn. For the Posadas, the outside of houses are decorated with evergreens, moss and paper lanterns.

 

In each Posada, children are given candles and a board, with painted clay figures of Mary riding on a donkey and Joseph, to process round the streets with. They call at the houses of friends and neighbors and sing a song at each home. The song they sing is about Joseph and Mary asking for a room in the house. But the children are told that there is no room in the house and that they must go away. Eventually they are told there is room and are welcomed in! When the children go into the house they say prayers of thanks and then they have a party with food, games and fireworks.

Each night a different house hold the Posada party. At the final Posada on Christmas Eve, a manger and figures of shepherds are put on to the board. When the Posada house has been found, a baby Jesus is put into the manger and then families go to a midnight Church service. After the Church service there are more fireworks to celebrate the start of Christmas.

One game that is often played at Posada parties is piñata. A piñata is a decorated clay or papier-mâché jar filled with sweets and hung from the ceiling or tree branch. The piñata is often decorated something like a ball with seven peaks around it. The peaks or spikes represent the 'seven deadly sins'. piñata's can also be in the form of an animal or bird (such as a donkey). To play the game, children are blind-folded and take it in turns to hit the piñata with a stick until it splits open and the sweets pour out. Then the children rush to pick up as many sweets as they can!

 

As well as the posada's, another type of Christmas play known as Pastorelas (The Shepherds). These tell the story of the shepherds going to find the baby Jesus and are often very funny. The devil tries to stop them by tempting them along the way. But the shpeherds always getthere in the end, often with the help of the Archangel Michael, who comes and beats the devil!

Nativity scenes, known as the 'nacimiento', are very popular in Mexico. They are often very large, with the figures being life size! Sometimes a whole room in a house is used for the nacimiento, although this is less common now. The figures are often made of clay and are traditionally passed down through families. As well as the normal figures of the Mary, Joseph, Jesus, the Shepherds and Three Kings, there are often lots of other figures of different people, including women making tortillas, people selling food and different animals and birds, like flamingos! The figures can be bought from markets in cities all over Mexico. The baby Jesus is normally added to the scene during the evening of Christmas Eve. The Three Kings are added at Epiphany.

Christmas Trees are becoming more popular in Mexico, but the main/most important decoration is still the nacimiento.

Christmas Eve is known as 'Noche Buena' and is a family day. People often take part in the final Posada and then in the evening have the main Christmas meal. At midnight, many people go to a Midnight Mass service, known as the 'Misa de Gallo' (Mass of the Rooster). There are lots of fireworks to celebrate Christmas Day.

Poinsettia flowers are known as 'nochebuena' (Christmas Eve) flowers in Mexico.

People in Mexico also celebrate 'los santos inocentes' or 'Day of the Innocent Saints' on December 28th ad it's very like April Fools Day in the UK and USA. 28th December is when people remember the babies that were killed on the orders of King Herod when he was trying to kill the baby Jesus.

In some states in Mexico children expect Santa Claus to come on December 24th. In the south of Mexico children expect presents on January 6th at Epiphany, which is known as 'el Dia de los Reyes'.

On el Dia de los Reyes the presents are left by the Three Kings (or Magi). If you've had a visit from Santa on Christmas Eve, you might also get some candy on el Dia de los Reyes!

It's traditional to eat a special cake called 'Rosca de Reyes' (Three Kings Cake) on Epiphany. A figure of Baby Jesus is hidden inside the cake. Whoever has the baby Jesus in their piece of cake is the 'Godparent' of Jesus for that year.

Another important day, is Candelaria (also known as Candlemas) on the 2nd February and it marks the end of the Mexican Christmas celebrations. Lots of Mexicans have a party for Candelaria.

In Mexico, presents might also be brought by 'El Niñito Dios' (baby Jesus) & Santo Clós (Santa Claus)

In Mexico people speak Spanish (Español), so Happy/Merry Christmas is 'Feliz Navidad'. Happy/Merry Christmas in lots more languages.

The largest ever Angel Ornament was made in Mexico. It was made in January 2001 by Sergio Rodriguez in the town of Nuevo León. The angel was 18' 3"" high and had wing span of 11' 9"! Perhaps the most amazing thing about the angel was that it was completely made out of old beer bottles, 2946 of them!

 

Christmas in the United Kingdom

In the UK (or Great Britain), families often celebrate Christmas together, so they can watch each other open their presents!

Most families have a Christmas Tree (or maybe even two!) in their house for Christmas. The decorating of the tree is usually a family occasion, with everyone helping. Christmas Trees were first popularised the UK by Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria. Prince Albert was German, and thought that it would be good to use one of his ways of celebrating Christmas in to England.

Holly, Ivy and Mistletoe are also sometimes used to decorate homes or other buildings.

Most villages, towns and cities are decorated with Christmas lights over Christmas. Often a famous person switches them on. The most famous Christmas lights in the UK are in Oxford Street in London. Every year they get bigger and better and thousands of people go to watch the big 'switch on' around the beginning of November.

 

Like a lot of countries, Nativity Plays and Carol Services are also very popular at Christmas time. The Church that I go to always has a Carols by Candlelight Service where the church is only lit up by candles. It is a very special service and always makes me feel very Christmassy! Lots of other British churches also have Carols by Candlelight and Christingle services.

Children believe that Father Christmas or Santa Claus leaves presents in stockings or pillow-cases. These are normally hung up by the fire or by the children's beds on Christmas Eve. Children sometimes leave out mince pies and brandy for Father Christmas to eat and drink when he visits them. Now, some people say that a non-alcoholic drink should be left for Santa as he has to drive!

Children write letters to Father Christmas listing their requests, but sometimes instead of putting them in the post, the letters are tossed into the fireplace. The draught carries the letters up the chimney and Father Christmas reads the smoke.

There are some customs that only take place, or were started, in the UK. Wassailing is an old anglo-saxon custom that doesn't take place much today. Boxing Day is a very old custom that started in the UK and is now taken as a holiday in many countries around the world.

 

In Scotland, some people celebrate New Year's Eve (which is called Hogmanay) more than Christmas! The word Hogmanay comes from a kind of oat cake that was traditionally given to children on New Year's Eve. All across the UK, in cities and towns, there are fireworks to celebrate the New Year. Two of the most famous fireworks displays are in London, along the River Thames, and in Edinburgh at the Hogmanay celebrations.

Also in Scotland, the first person to set foot in a house in a New Year is thought to have a big effect on the fortunes of the people that live there! Generally strangers are thought to bring good luck. Depending on the area, it may be better to have a dark-haired or fair-haired stranger set foot in the house. This tradition is widely known as 'first footing'. In England it is sometimes said that a stranger coming through the door carrying a lump of coal will bring good luck.

In Scots (a Scottish dialect) Happy/Merry Christmas is 'Blithe Yule'; in Gaelic it's 'Nollaig Chridheil'; and in Welsh (which is spoken in some parts of Wales it's 'Nadolig Llawen'. Happy/Merry Christmas in lots more languages.

In the UK, the main Christmas Meal is usually eaten at lunchtime or early afternoon on Christmas Day. It's normally roast turkey, roast vegetables and 'all the trimmings' which means vegetables like carrots, peas, stuffing and sometimes bacon and sausages. It's often served with cranberry sauce and bread sauce. (Traditionally, and before turkey was available, roast beef or goose was the main Christmas meal. In Scotland, some people might even have Haggis instead of turkey!). One vegetable that is often at Christmas in the UK are brussel sprouts. I love them some lots of people don't!

Dessert is often Christmas Pudding. Mince pies and lots of chocolates are often eaten as well! The dinner table is decorated with a Christmas Cracker for each person and sometimes flowers and candles.

The UK is also famous for Christmas Cake - some people love and some people really don't like it! It's traditionally a rich fruit cake covered with marzipan and icing - and often top with Christmas themed cake decorations like spring of holly.

 

In the UK, it doesn't snow very often, but people always want to know if it will be a 'White Christmas'. The British definition, used by the UK Meteorological Office (who say if it has been a White Christmas in the UK or not!), is that a single snow flake has been seen falling in the 24 hours of Christmas Day! This doesn't happen a lot in the UK!!!

Statistics show that in the UK, they get an official White Christmas about every 4 or 5 years and have real snow at Christmas about 1 in 10 years (but often this is only in Scotland!).

 

Yashi Kochi!!!!