Christmas traditions in DR

[mofongoloco]

Thanks Pichardo. I wish I knew how to split quotations like that!

Very, all over the country, but it has more to do with economic levels than tradition. That's to say that the majority of middle class and up celebrates Santa, but the less fortunate only Los Tres Reyes Magos and La Vieja Belen...




Yes, yes and yes. The ritual is to wait until the morning of the 25th...



It all depends on family income and how many same economic class uncles and aunts they muster.



Yes! Live trees are a rarity. The types of tree used again depends on economic incomes.



There's a big family feast on the 24th, which is followed on the 25th (mostly for the left overs and late comers/visiting families/etc...)



Both the midnight and early morning



PR coquito and DR ponche (which is erroneously referred to as coquito) are both clearly related. Keep in mind, Ponche de Cremas was made in the DR prior to there being a proper PR state. It's said that early Dominican families that fled the Haitian invasions and later governments, took the colonial time's traditional Ponche de Cremas to PR and that's how Coquito was born in the sister Island. But to this day, both are quite similar but still not perfectly the same!




Pan de Telera, Ensalada Rusa, Roasted Pork, Pastelones, Moros, etc... The list goes on and on...




Several DR1 members run some instances of toys and food for xmass. You can find them with a quick search here in the forum.






Dominican Middle class can afford much of what has been described above.





Yes!




Pretty much the same depending on economic conditions and their church going activities.




YES! Godfathers/Godmothers are expected to gift the kids just like their parents would and first thing on the morning after!





De nada!

 

[mofongoloco]

thank you. Looks like he is gearing up for another campaign.

Here it is the distribution of Christmas baskets:


Delayed three hours, Leonel Santiago shared baskets
(Dominicans are late as usual):tired:


SANTIAGO. - With three hours late, the former president of the Republic and President of the Dominican Liberation Party, Leonel Fern?ndez, today began delivery of 150, 000 Christmas boxes nationwide. Fern?ndez began the distribution of food boxes in The Jasmine industry of this city, where a crowd of people were concentrated waiting for the early arrival of the former president. Former President also distributed boxes in the community of Hato del Yaque and Salted neighborhood of this city. Boxes containing punch, wine, rice, and other necessities to prepare a holiday meal as oil, beans, macaroni, tomato sauce, seasoning, sardines, sausage, pigeon peas, corn flour, cocoa powder and oats Besides delivering baskets Fernandez met with the leadership of PLD the Northwest and Northern Region to discuss issues related to the eighth congress Norge Botello.


Con retraso de tres horas, Leonel reparte canastas en Santiago - DiarioLibre.com

 

[jkc]

Rice, beans and chicken? They do it these foods, all year around? Right? lol
Funny!

Feliz Navidad and mucho arroz!

 

[mofongoloco]

Gosh darn Matilda. This is why I have to wait to read your blog. Just this post brought tears. That little Chivirico is a treasure. you both are so lucky to have found each other.

Thank you.

Actually for the vast majority of people in this country Christmas is not like expats are used to. Christmas eve is the big family dinner but many will struggle to get the traditional meal of pork, rice, bread, salad and russian salad. On Christmas day there are no presents for most - as Chivirico my part time foster child said to me last year, "I must always have been naughty as Santa does not give presents to naughty children, and he has never visited me". Most will have no presents on Christmas day, but all will have some cheap Chinese made toy on 6th January.
Santa now visits Chivirico and his family thanks to generous people on his Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/groups/269922726452285/

Matilda

 

[mofongoloco]

I look forward to such a "different" experience. I still recall the first time I went to Florida as a boy during christmas vacation. it was weird to be celebrating outside in shorts, for sure.

Thank you.

The artificial tree thing seems to be something from the last decade. I clearly remember in 2000, my first Christmas in DR, picking up a real tree on the parking place of ferreteria Hache on JF Kennedy. It felt 'different' to get a Christmas tree in shorts and t-shirt.

 

[dv8]

here it is, distribution of cajas navidenas:
Plan Social inici? hoy reparto de 800 mil cajas navide?as

note the products included: arroz, gandules, habichuelas, salsa de tomates, harina de ma?z, aceite, pastas alimenticias, az?car, avena, dulces navide?os, saz?n l?quido, casabe, ron, ponche, vino, y otros productos.

rum, ponche and wine. basics, eh?

 

[mofongoloco]

Dv8, it may interest you to know that in the US Polak also spelled anglicized as pollock is now considered a derisive term. Now Pole is the accepted vernacular for a person from Poland. funny huh. Polak can get you in trouble. ah well.

May I make a few observations of my polish neighbors... Unbelievable gardners. Straight lines. Never a weed in site. and back then they All drove Oldsmobiles and the ladies all wore housecoats. still do. I was raised on kapusta, glumpkies and pierogies. Great grandma Kijowski (Ukranian) made them soft as pillows. my favorite are the saurkraut. She would eat raw onion Like an apple and kiss us children with the worst breath imaginable. We all loved her dearly. They had a large farm and My uncle teddy had a crop dusting business. I wold go along and hand pump the chemicals for him. I would be covered in the insecticide. I assume this predated OSHA and EPA regulations.

thanks for inspiring my memory.

one thing i can say is that in poland those kolędnicy guys have decency to do it in the evenings. maybe because unlike in DR, most polaks are employed or at school during the day.

 

[mofongoloco]

Thank you Deyvi. Is that a transliteration of David pronounced dominican style. Some people just cant end a word with a hard consonant.

In the poor barrios, Christmas is good with a colorful table cloth. Something beyond "The Bandara". A mini buffet. En la tarde, vente quarto. Pretty much another day.
People with children, nieces and nephews, worry about how they can provide just a little something on Three Kings Day.

 

[mofongoloco]

Thank you.

Traditional Christmas Eve dinner is what we have at the in-laws. Christmas Day we drive back to the Capital and I make lasagna for dinner. This year though a lot of the family will be in the US, nieces and nephews, sister in-law, etc...so I will probably stay in the Capital and see what I can come up with.

 

[mofongoloco]

Can I come? Sounds like a nice holiday. Thanks for your reply.

christmas here is a bit nuts for me. I will not swap my customs for dominican ones (salad at christmas, un) and so it es very drawn out, but you know you've had a feast by early jan.
24th, dominican xmas dinner, we the men stand in the street, cupping our testicles, pulling our vests over our beer bloated stomachs in a ritual that i believe is there to boast who has been fed best throughout the year, the larger your stomach the wealthier we are. We talk nonesense while the women go for guiness records in how many people you can fit in in 8ft kitchen without scaldin babies and all 6 hobs a blazin.
Eventually the mamoth celebrtion and feast es unveiled en this especial ocasi?n, and surprise surprise es frinkin rice, veg and pork, exactly what de eat all year round.
We eat and then head back to the street to talk with our neighbours, again cupping testicles, but now burping and have moved ont? strong liquer. Buy the time night sets in all the kids in the family have hijacked the master bed and us adults are happy to drift off on sofa cussions or loungers.

25th, actual Xmas, britsh style. I get the turkey in the oven by 8am. Kids open pressies go a bit nuts. Family come to offer help when i send them away, anywhere and to come back forma 2pm. Turkey, stuffing, gravy, peas, sprouts, yourkshire pudding, green beans, mashed, roasted and boiled pots, the works. They come back, we sit down to eat, a little drunk by this time. Begin at 3pm and still at the table at 10 11 pm. Custard, trifle, coffee, a sing son and then bed or talking and drinking into the early hours.

26th, up early to prepare the visiting food, another british day. Sausage rolls, boiled eggs, mince pies, cakes. Drag the family into the dar and go and visita all the people de dont want to visit us. Dropping off the kids gifts and topping up on alcohol all the way. Home before midnight, bed, li? in next day.

Jan 6th, time fir the kids to get more gifts, friends and family stop by and give us stuff, and de do the same. Even Xmas costs es expats double.


This year will be different.

 

[dv8]

as a polak i call us polaks polaks i think most of us back home are not aware this is an insult at all since polak means pole in polish.

talking about food, you reminded me of another polish tradition i was surprised not to see in DR. in poland we also celebrate on the 24th with a big dinner. however, we are not allowed to eat meat. i thought dominicans would do the same since they are very religious.

 

[mofongoloco]

Thank you. My siblings brought me into the attic to see the presents. I faltered that year, but the following year I definitely heard the reindeer on the roof. I find it charming that all year we tell children it is naughty to lie, then we lie our pants off with threats of santa passing the house over for being naughty. a national psychosis I fully endorse.

Some kids believe in Santa and baby Jesus, others in the three wise men. Some only get presents on either Dec 25th or January 6th. But some kids get presents on both dates. It all depends on where you were raised and your family's financial situation.

I have some Dominican friends who've told their children that Santa doesn't exist. They just take the kid to the store to pick something they really like.

 

[mofongoloco]

IT's A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE! A DR1 thread without any snark or disparaging remarks. thanks to you all! Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it and a Happy Holiday to those who don't.

 

[Chirimoya]

empalagoso? wow. such a useful word and i did not know it! thank you, chiri!

It's almost untranslatable, at least in English. It can also be applied to people.

in general i am a fan of british food, but british xmas sweets border on abomination. christmas pudding? god save me. i only bought it once and it went right into the bin. i still remember that best before date on that criminal item was 2016. and i bought it it in 2004 or so. minced pies are also gross. the pastry is nice but why fill it with... with... bueh.

And I'm not a fan of British food generally but I do love mince pies, Christmas pud etc.

 

[AlterEgo]

as a polak i call us polaks polaks i think most of us back home are not aware this is an insult at all since polak means pole in polish.

talking about food, you reminded me of another polish tradition i was surprised not to see in DR. in poland we also celebrate on the 24th with a big dinner. however, we are not allowed to eat meat. i thought dominicans would do the same since they are very religious.

This seems to be a regional thing. Many Italians celebrate Christmas Eve with the 7 Fishes - no meat, and they claim it is/was Catholic Church mandated. I don't buy that, because my Sicilian grandparents always had pork for Christmas Eve, I'm not sure what my Baresi grandparents ate because we were always upstate with mom's family. It can't be proximity to water/fish, because my grandfather grew up near the water's edge, outside of Palermo, and loved fish.

Raising our Dominican-Italian kids, for years we alternated Dominican roast pork with the popular 7 fishes dinner [very expensive meal, and a lot more work]. Then one year I decided to make a 7-fish seafood paella, and that's the one they all ask for every year, so I'll repeat it again this year. We'll also have arepita de yuca, and pastelitos with shrimp or lambi filling, etc., etc.

 

[mofongoloco]

I know. It slays me too. Polak=Pole in Polish. is a Polish Woman Polaka?

This inspires another cherished memory. My grandparents were protestants so they didn't follow the prohibition of meat on Fridays. So it was a speacial treat to go to McDonalds with grandma and grandpa. On a Friday they would allow us to get a cheeseburger and we were given permission to LIE to our parents and say we had the fish sandwich. The tastiest treat in the world and in cahhots with grandparents fibbing to parents. Such fun. mcd's was a special treat, not a source of nutrition.

as a polak i call us polaks polaks i think most of us back home are not aware this is an insult at all since polak means pole in polish.

talking about food, you reminded me of another polish tradition i was surprised not to see in DR. in poland we also celebrate on the 24th with a big dinner. however, we are not allowed to eat meat. i thought dominicans would do the same since they are very religious.

 

[mofongoloco]

I love 7 fishes. do you include scungilli (sp?) or do you substitute octopus?

This seems to be a regional thing. Many Italians celebrate Christmas Eve with the 7 Fishes - no meat, and they claim it is/was Catholic Church mandated. I don't buy that, because my Sicilian grandparents always had pork for Christmas Eve, I'm not sure what my Baresi grandparents ate because we were always upstate with mom's family. It can't be proximity to water/fish, because my grandfather grew up near the water's edge, outside of Palermo, and loved fish.

Raising our Dominican-Italian kids, for years we alternated Dominican roast pork with the popular 7 fishes dinner [very expensive meal, and a lot more work]. Then one year I decided to make a 7-fish seafood paella, and that's the one they all ask for every year, so I'll repeat it again this year. We'll also have arepita de yuca, and pastelitos with shrimp or lambi filling, etc., etc.

 

[dv8]

I know. It slays me too. Polak=Pole in Polish. is a Polish Woman Polaka?

it's polka. yes, the same as a dance.

in poland we eat two fishes: carp and herring. occasionally you may see pike or zander. traditionally you have to try every dish on the table. when we went home for xmas miesposo was very skeptical about it but he obediently tried a tiny piece of everything and then focused all his attention on pierogi

 

[AlterEgo]

I love 7 fishes. do you include scungilli (sp?) or do you substitute octopus?

I do both of them. Lambi is conch, a favorite of ours.

 

[Xavier_Onassis]

I think that the Poles and the Irish are the most Catholic people on this planet. In the Hispanic world, the Ecuadorians are easily the most religious, at least West of Amazonia.

DV8, what is the name of that famous very Polish song they sing at Christmas? I assume you will know the one I am talking about. It does not seem to have been translated. What a beautiful melody!