Christmas in Ecuador

  In Ecuador Christmas is received with great joy, is a time when Ecuadorian families gather to celebrate the birth of Christ, everyone is waiting with great anxiety the arrival of this festevidad to share and celebrate with his.

 

 

 

  Christmas tree

 In Ecuador many people follow the custom of putting the Christmas tree on December 8 because on this day the day of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary is celebrated, many people prefer to do in the month of November and some in early December, but if it is a tradition that is maintained for many years, according to legend, this tradition was in Germany during the eighth century, the missionary St. Boniface was preaching a sermon on Christmas Day and an oak tree was felled to show that it was not sacred, (as this was used to worship the birth of Frey, god of the sun and fertility). When the tree destroyed all the bushes least a fir tree. San Bonifacio interpreted what happened as a miracle and decided to call the "tree of baby Jesus. ''

 There are many programs in which people gather to light the Christmas tree collectively, among family and friends. All this as a sign of unity among the people we most want to also kick off the most anticipated time of the year, the time in which the birth of Jesus is expected.

In Switzerland, the Christmas trees are not synthetic, they are cut from the mountains and are decorated with candles and chocolates Christmas Eve, while in ecguador they are adorned with light bulbs, lights, ornaments and garlands.

                      Crib in homes

The crib is a representation which is given on arrival to the world of Jesus, here representative figures are placed in the nativity scene.

 Are are found in every Ecuadorian home, in churches, community centers and representative in all parts of the country, an example of this is the location of Christmas pecebre on the bun.
This tradition is to arm the pecebre and December 25 (Christmas Eve) the child Jesus is placed in the middle of birth.

                                

                               

In Switzerland also it carried out the construction of the crib at the foot of the tree, these two complement each other to bring the family in its construction.

Christmas candy covers

 At Christmas, it is very common to receive a bag of candy by family, friends and groups in which as Christmas programs in schools, colleges, social organizations, businesses, churches, youth groups, etc. are made
It is also common delivering Christmas baskets, turkeys, gifts, bonuses to employees of large companies who receive it as a bonus for the relizado work throughout the year, this also occurs from family and friends.

  In Switzerland it is very common delivery of baskets of products to family and friends and also the giving biscuits to children.

The ninth.

The ninth is a religious practice that is done for nine days in the middle of the family or community of a group of people, which is gradually putting together the crib, union meditate every day a specific part of the Holy Scriptures which they pray, sing carols and calls for an intention, the ninth day, a day before Christmas is primarily focused on the birth of Jesus, here it is when a candle anticipating the arrival of christmas Eve turns. 

 Child pass

 Pass the Child, is a very old tradition, in which worship is offered to the birth of Christ, the Child Jesus.

Processions filled the figure of the child. Children dress up as angels and shepherds, accompanied by the town band, the carols playing. The procession culminates in a church where Mass is celebrated. Passes Child celebrated on December 24 each year. The pass of the Child held the first of January and pass the Child King, held on 5 January which are called "Minor passes" in which the participation of the population is younger. The Priostes people are socially and economically sponsoring religious festivals, its tasks are to organize invitations to perform Pass and cover economic costs. How to select these people is very varied, as some cases are individuals designated or are people applying to be.

                                     

Christmas carols

  The carols are musical compositions having something that invokes the Christmas spirit in the times of the birth of Christ.
In Ecuador there have trcendido carols throughout history, carols ideltidad part of this people. But this constumbre took hold in Spain and this country to its colonies in America. With the assembly of Bethlehem came the songs, these were passed from village to village, who were considered villas, and who interpreted the music is called carols, this is the origin of carols as interpreted in Ecuador.

 Masses and Eucharistic Celebrations for Christmas

During the holidays, several acts of Christmas celebration as masses, eg Midnight Mass is done on Christmas Eve are made, as well as the processions pass the child are made and many more that go with the joy of welcoming the baby Jesus .
All this occurs in the heat of the community who is chanting carols and songs about Christmas.

Another typical tradition in Switzerland is the Advent Calendar, which gives children earlier this month.

Some are made of handmade or manufactured; huge or small; multicolored in the form of boards or made with ribbons of hanging little bags ... but all with the same purpose: With it, the children go every day marking the time remaining to receive Christ in Christmas. And the most popular are hidden candy or small gift for each day, until the great moment of celebration.

Typical food at Christmas 

In Ecuador it is customary to eat baked turkey, stuffing is separate and is based on minced pork and chicken, sweet bread, wine, raisins, prunes, olives and wine; Russian salad, potatoes, apples, carrots, peas with mayonnaise and rice can be with cream and corn or with cream and parsley. It is also customary to eat roast pork. Easter dessert bread or Panetonne or also eat Christmas cakes. And it brings with champagne. In families of low social eating chicken or pork, sometimes with stuffing, potato salad and rice with cream and corn, like toast with champagne is so cheap, and beer never lacking.

 Switzerland has the usual custom of eating turkey on Christmas Eve or Christmas is not a "must" for the Swiss, who prefer taking of foreign or local customs, what they most want. The truth is that in these celebrations Swiss lean towards the traditional Swiss food, a distant exotic dish, or the best known in this country: the so-called Fondue Chinoise.This is a plate in which there is no requirement for older preparations or whole hours in the kitchen.Meat, usually beef (and sometimes combined with bits of horse meat) you can buy in supermarkets ready to put on the table, or it can be obtained in the carnage.They cut meat when the meat is frozen, very small and thin, leaving a slip of paper no larger than 5 cm.

Origin of Christmas

To try to contemplate a theory is interesting to consider the origin of the word Christmas in Old English is 'Cristes Maesse' Christ's Mass, which dates from 1038; and 'Cristes- messe' by 1131.Formerly Christmas was not on the major feasts of the Church, but now it is one of the most important and has to his credit many activities have been integrated over time, eg making cribs, build trees Christmas carol singing, 'Midnight Mass' Magi, 'Holy Innocents' and more.The first evidence of this festival comes from Egypt around the year 200 AD, studies show not only the year, but the tentative date of birth of Christ that apparently corresponds to May 20 the twenty-eighth year of the reign of August.Although there are different dates dispute the honor of the famous birth in the Christian world, the most important day of the Christmas party are mainly 24 and 25, allocated as commemorative dates of birth of Jesus.The date is eminently religious, although their bases in the gospel show contradictions and no confirmation of data, but very related to solar feast of Natalis Invicti on 25 December in the Roman Empire.

Christmas spirit