Feliz Navidad de Paraguay! – Merry Christmas from Paraguay

Christmas Tree + Nativity + Watermelon + Gift Basket

Loved ones  – Merry Christmas from Paraguay! I hope the holiday was a good one for each of you.

I had a superb Christmas here in Paraguay, and felt truly blessed to be a part of a family since I couldn’t be with my own back home. Emotions were mixed, and traditions certainly missed, but my outlook was that I have a lot to be grateful for. I’ve never experienced Christmas away from home, better yet in another country, with different traditions, with another family. And to truly feel like part of the family was spectacular. I was more than just an outside observer.

One major difference in Christmas celebrations in Paraguay is the date. The big day is Christmas Eve – La Noche Buena – The Good Night, which culminates at midnight with big dinners, toasting clericó or sidra (wine-infused fruit salad or hard cider), shooting off bombas (firecrackers), mass text messages about el nino dios en tu corazon (the child God in your heart) and general merriment and well wishes in the streets.

So on Christmas Eve mid-morning, I went over to host family’s house. I had told host mom Ada well in advance that I would like to help her cook and prepare for the festivities. She gladly excepted and noted how guapa (hardworking!) I am.

The menu: peceto relleno al horno (stuffed beef loin? from the oven), chipa guasú (cornbread casserole), ensalada de papas (potato salad w/ beets, carrots), ensalada de frutas, mandioca and red wine!

Host brother Carlos (the doctor in-training) performed surgery to hollow out part of the cut of beef.

doctor carlos

sewing up the meat - and wearing the tshirt tim sent me !

After the beef was all hollowed out, I stuffed it with hard boiled eggs, ham, cheese, carrots, the ground beef we removed with green onions, oregano, salt and pepper. I sewed the end closed and then… into the oven to bake.

I returned that evening with gifts to put in the canasta. I brought pan dulce and sidra –  a traditional sweet bread and hard cider. At my host families house, visitors contribute to the gift basket, and the loot is shared with the family throughout the holidays.

la canasta - the basket

Our canasta was overflowing. So this is the canasta sidecar.

more basket goodies!

I spy Lay’s Potato Chips, wine, cider, gelatin dessert, juice, canned peaches and more pan dulce.

Next, we get to work on the fruit salad–peeling pears, apples, bananas, plums, pineapple and nectarines. And it must be diced. Ada strictly enforces this, and reminds me to cut the fruit in tiny bites. I assist in her quality control and send Sonia’s bananas back for more dicing.

lots of fruit salad - mmm mmm good

And then the power went out. Great timing. But it’s cooled off nicely, so we sit in the dark, drinking mate and joking about the most romantic Christmas ever. Family members take turns calling ANDE (Administracion Nacional de Electricidad) to tell them Valenzuela’s power is out. We craft up funny stories about a visiting diplomat, but in truth, host dad Amado has an ice factory out back, and the backup power source was lost as well.

host sister sonia - we were still using the fancy candles

host brother carlos - switched to non-fancy candles. this might be a while.

We snack on chipa guasu. And move outside to sit in cord chairs, passing the mate around. It’s pitch black, so a cellphone light helps with visibility. I don’t want to pour lava-hot water on my hand.

p.s., this is a cord chair. and it's deserving of its own entry. that will come at a later date.

As we sit outside, the pharmacy across the street suddenly becomes illuminated, and the lights seem to trickle down the street. There are cheers and we move inside to resume dinner preparations.

sonia carving the peceto - que rico!

carne

chipa guasu - he'eterei

Following dinner, I joined Ada outside in the cord chairs. We talked about this and that, and above all tried to keep our eyes open. At midnight, we wished one another Feliz Navidad and jaketama (Let’s sleep).

I peddled home on my bike, wishing Merry Christmas to those I passed, and avoiding the kids with the firecrackers. I stopped at host sister Celina’s grandmother’s house. They invited me in to see their manger display, have a glass of clerico, and send me home with a piece of pan dulce casero (homemade!). When Celina and her little brother began to make wishes before the baby Jesus, that no one should be without bread, that everyone be with their families at Christmas, I couldn’t take it. I called it a very merry Christmas night.

Christmas Day I visited my socia friend Ña Ede. I took her some pan dulce and a Christmas card. She invited me for terere and to stay for lunch…a dual celebration of her granddaughter’s and Jesus’ birthdays (Belén is her name…and I finally pieced together that that means Bethlehem). We ate kure chyryry (that’s fried pig, Southerners) and sopa paraguaya (cornbread) and mandioca. So very delicious.

And afterwards…the bombas. I had to take a video of this because I was laughing so hard. The dog, Ña Ede told me, is old and grumpy and has epilepsy and she’s just waiting for it to die. However, the dog also happens to be crazy and full of life. Enjoy!