TORONTO -- On Christmas morning, most people with Latin American roots aren鈥檛 waking up early to open gifts.
That鈥檚 because we opened them the night before, and we鈥檙e likely exhausted from partying. Please let us sleep.
Not to brag, but Christmas actually comes one day early for Latinx people -- any person with Latin American roots -- with most celebrations happening on Dec. 24.
Ask most Latinx people in Canada and the United States and they鈥檒l tell you the biggest night of the month is Christmas Eve or 鈥淣ochebuena,鈥� which means the 鈥済ood night.鈥�
CHURCH AND THE PARTY ARE ON DEC. 24
While every household is different, for most families, the night is complete with a feast of traditional dishes, dancing, an exchange of gifts, the singing of Christmas carols called Villancicos, and typically someone older dressing up as Santa Claus.
While Kris Kringle gets all the credit for gifts in North American homes, for many Latinx families, children know exactly which family member or friend gifted what.
And then, depending on a family鈥檚 religiosity, members attend a late-night church service or Christmas mass called 鈥淟a Misa del Gallo,鈥� literally translating to the Rooster鈥檚 Mass. But don鈥檛 expect a solemn service to damper any party afterwards.
It鈥檚 common for Christmas Eve festivities go into the early morning -- which essentially makes Christmas Day more of an afterthought for Latinx people. Some even going so far as to call it the 鈥渄ay of leftovers.鈥�
But if families are fortunate enough, children might get another round of gifts from either El Niño Jesus (Baby Jesus) or Santa on Christmas morning.
鈥淭he figure of Santa Claus now is very much a part of Latin America, but before, maybe, the 1940s, it would usually be the newborn Jesus that gave you the gift, after he was born which is the 25th,鈥� Berenice Villagomez, co-ordinator of Latin American Studies at the University of Toronto, told CTVNews.ca by phone.
CHRISTMAS EVE CAPS OFF MONTH OF CELEBRATION
So why the focus on Dec. 24, even if people aren鈥檛 religious? Across Latin America, Christmas Eve was the big finale to colonial-era traditions which have taken on cultural significance.
For example, in Colombia and Argentina, (or Day of the Little Candles) on Dec. 7, marks the unofficial start of the Christmas season, with celebrations going until the next day. It involves thousands of candles being lit throughout their cities to honor the Virgin Mary and her Immaculate Conception.
Then, for Catholics in Mexico, their Christmas season kicks off on Dec. 12 on the Day of Virgin of Guadalupe, Villagomez said, explaining .
And these pave the way for one of the biggest celebrations in Central America, particularly in Mexico and Guatemala, where people host mini-parties on each of the nine days before Christmas Eve.
Leylanis Gonzalez, playing Mary, and Orlando Hidalgo, playing Joseph, wait to be let in to the Church of the Immaculate Conception during a Las Posadas celebration on Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012 in York, Pa. (AP Photo/York Daily Record, Jeff Lautenberger)
La Posadas, which translates to 鈥渢he inns" or "the shelters,鈥� are basically mini-processions where children and adults dress up and reenact the biblical story of Jesus鈥� parents, Mary and Joseph, searching for lodging on their way to Bethlehem.
Depending on the neighbourhood, the couple called 鈥渢he pilgrims鈥� go door-to-door singing songs and being offered holiday foods such as hot tamales. And the night ends with children breaking a piñata, which signifies destroying evil.
While Chile and Ecuador doesn鈥檛 have Posadas, they have 鈥淣ovena鈥� (Nine in Latin) masses in the evenings on the nine days before Christmas Eve.
Dancers from La Magdalena community hold candles as they pray on the seventh day of the "Novena" in Quito, Ecuador, Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2015.
All these celebrations lead to the aforementioned 鈥淣ochebuena鈥� on Dec. 24, which signifies the joy Christians feel on the day Jesus was born, University of Regina history professor Scarlet Munoz Ramirez explained.
The night鈥檚 mass and church services are observed in countries such as Mexico, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Bolivia and Puerto Rico. And in Venezuela, this mass is only one of a series of masses that month held early in the morning.
Ramirez explained this late-night, Christmas Eve mass -- which originated in Rome and Spain 鈥� is 鈥渢he most important mass of the year.鈥�
COLONIALISTS USED TRADITIONS TO CONVERT THE INDIGENOUS
While the customs today carry a lot of joy and memories for people, the region鈥檚 sordid colonial past is at the heart of Dec. 24鈥檚 significance today.
鈥淭he roots are religious there鈥檚 no doubt,鈥� professor Antonio Torres-Ruiz at the Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean at York University said during a phone interview.
The Posadas, for example, were part of Catholic Church鈥檚 push for evangelization back in the 16th century, according to Ramirez, who specializes in colonial Mexican history.
In general, colonists used these month-long rituals, Nativity scenes and Christmas carols as a way to spread Catholicism to the indigenous people and slave populations -- in countries such as modern-day Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia and Peru.
Each holding a candle, hundreds of people join the march Thursday, Dec. 8, 2011 at Las Posadas Celebration in Porterville, Calif. (AP Photo/The Porterville Recorder, Chieko Hara)
Noting the indigenous people鈥檚 cultures, Torres-Ruiz said 鈥渁lthough the Christian tradition is important, it鈥檚 not the only one.鈥� Villagomez agreed saying Christmas practices largely helped shape Latin America鈥檚 religious makeup.
Torres-Ruiz further explained Christmas evangelization rituals were slightly unnecessary in places such as Cuba and Brazil, where colonizers unfortunately decimated more of its indigenous peoples.
鈥淪o that reduces the significance of Christmas for some of these peoples there,鈥� Torres-Ruiz said, adding that, in Cuba, Christmas in general is more of a secular holiday.
IMPORTANCE OF DEC. 24 IS MORE PRACTICAL TODAY
But despite its colonial background, the practice of getting together on Christmas Eve still remains today out of practically -- even if families aren鈥檛 religious.
鈥淭raditionally, you usually stay in the same city as your families,鈥� Villagomez said, adding that 鈥渋f, say, (a) grandmother was still alive, everyone would gather at her place and then it becomes a party because you have (relatives) of all ages there.鈥�
She explained that unlike Canada or the U.S., Latinx countries don鈥檛 have anything similar to Boxing Day. 鈥淪o people would celebrate a little earlier on the (Dec.) 24th, so they have 25 as the day to rest and recover because on the 26th, you鈥檙e back to work,鈥� she said.
Ramirez agreed and said on Christmas Day, people tend to just enjoy leftovers and families tend to get together but 鈥渋t鈥檚 very, very informal. It鈥檚 nothing like Nochebuena.鈥�
Both she and Torres-Ruiz both referred to Christmas Eve as 鈥渢he most important date for families to come together and meet in one place鈥� 鈥� very similar to Canadian and American Thanksgiving, which doesn鈥檛 exist in Latin America.
For Latinx families in Canada and in Central America today, the handful of Christmas celebrations during December has become a month-long excuse to catch up with famiy, get a bevy of gifts and begin capping off the year with loved ones.
And because the entire month is so Christmas-centric, Villagomez laughed because across Latin America, 鈥測ou can鈥檛 get anything done. It鈥檚 a lot of parties.鈥�
