Christmas in Peru mixes the Spanish heritage of the country’s colonial past with the native American experience to produce a noisy, pious and colourful celebration. The season begins in late November with the opening of Christmas markets. Peruvians are devotees of the home Nativity scene and are always looking for new figures to add to the crèche or new backdrops and landscapes for the characters; carvings by the native Quechuans, in wood or plaster, are becoming sought after around the world. These crèches are set up in churches and homes and can become quite complex as pieces are added every year.
During December fairs and festivals are common, with music heard in the streets played on native instruments such as the harp, Indian flute or whistle. Peruvians have have adopted the traditional villancico or Christmas carol and made it their own, singing them in Spanish or in native languages. Popular carols include “Allegria, Allegria en Navidad” (“Joy, Joy at Christmas”), “Vamos Pastores” (“Let’s Go Shepherds”) “Chillín, Chillín Campanilla” (“Bells are Ringing”) and “Rueda, Rueda”:
Rueda, rueda por la montaña
Blanca luz de sol.
Rueda, rueda la buena nueva
Que nació el Redentor.
Rueda, ruedala buena nueva
Que Él y nació.
Roll, roll down the mountain,
White light of the sun.
Roll, roll the good news
That the Redeemer is born.
Roll, roll the good news
That He is born.
As in all of Latin America Christmas Eve is the time for the family dinner and the midnight church service. Turkey is usually the main dish with papas a la Huancaína, a potato salad or tamales. Paneton fruit cake and chocolate will be for dessert with champagne the beverage of choice. Noche Buena is the night when children open their presents and see what Santa Claus has put in the stockings placed by the crèche. At twelve o’clock the image of the baby Jesus will be placed in the manger and fireworks will continue long into the night.
From Christmas to Epiphany Peruvians will continue to celebrate. There will be bull-fights in the cities, processions, more fiireworks, dances and parties. High in the Andes in the Huancayo district native miners hold the exotic Dance of the Beasts and Birds complete with masked dancers and animals they have snared to populate the manger scene in the churches. On January 6 Peruvians keep the old custom of the King’s Ring, the rosca de reyeswhich contains a surprise hidden within.