Christmas in Costa Rica is a blast!
Spending Christmas in Costa Rica is not very different than spending it within the North Americas. December comes alive with the festivities of the season. There may be a few things that are a little different to what you are used to. The meaning of Christmas remains the same as the world over being the birth of Christ.
The first thing that you will find is the Christmas tree in Costa Rica is not going to be the traditional spruce or cedar tree. It may be a small cypress tree, or some use a big evergreen branch. Then there are some still that use dried coffee branches. Although very different to what you may be used to, you will find them just as beautiful and fitting for the Christmas season as those back in your home Country.
Shop owners set the stage for Christmas decorating by offering their wares for sale in late November, so the residents can start decorating. Once this happens, it doesn’t take long for the Country to come alive with strings upon strings of lights.
When you are visiting another Country for Christmas, it is only fitting that you learn their traditions and customs and partake in them. For Costa Rica, one of the most important parts of Christmas is the “Portal”. This is a nativity scene that is carefully constructed with the traditional figures with the manger being adorned with moss, grass, cypress twigs and many more odds and ends. Much time is spent on setting up and arranging the family “Portals” A midnight on the 24th the baby Jesus is placed in the Portal.
At this time, the adults will open their gifts, but the children must wait while the baby Jesus brings their gifts while they sleep. Saint Nicholas is also a part of the festivities but not to the extend that the Holy family is.
If you happen to be in Costa Rica visiting friends prior to Christmas, you may be invited to join in Posadas. This begins 9 days before Christmas. Each of the 9 days, a group of neighbors gathers together at different houses in the neighborhood. They will spend an evening together singing, praying and enjoying snacks. This is to pay homage to the pilgrimage that Mary and Joseph made to Bethlehem. Then at midnight December 25th, most families will attend mass as a last event.
The first thing that you will find is the Christmas tree in Costa Rica is not going to be the traditional spruce or cedar tree. It may be a small cypress tree, or some use a big evergreen branch. Then there are some still that use dried coffee branches. Although very different to what you may be used to, you will find them just as beautiful and fitting for the Christmas season as those back in your home Country.
Shop owners set the stage for Christmas decorating by offering their wares for sale in late November, so the residents can start decorating. Once this happens, it doesn’t take long for the Country to come alive with strings upon strings of lights.
When you are visiting another Country for Christmas, it is only fitting that you learn their traditions and customs and partake in them. For Costa Rica, one of the most important parts of Christmas is the “Portal”. This is a nativity scene that is carefully constructed with the traditional figures with the manger being adorned with moss, grass, cypress twigs and many more odds and ends. Much time is spent on setting up and arranging the family “Portals” A midnight on the 24th the baby Jesus is placed in the Portal.
At this time, the adults will open their gifts, but the children must wait while the baby Jesus brings their gifts while they sleep. Saint Nicholas is also a part of the festivities but not to the extend that the Holy family is.
If you happen to be in Costa Rica visiting friends prior to Christmas, you may be invited to join in Posadas. This begins 9 days before Christmas. Each of the 9 days, a group of neighbors gathers together at different houses in the neighborhood. They will spend an evening together singing, praying and enjoying snacks. This is to pay homage to the pilgrimage that Mary and Joseph made to Bethlehem. Then at midnight December 25th, most families will attend mass as a last event.
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