Christmas in Bolivia

Christmas or Navidad (Spanish) in Bolivia is celebrated in the traditional ways. The focus of Christmas in Bolivia is the Nativity or presebre. A large number of Bolivian families will start their Christmas festivities with a midnight mass at church for prayers to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Some churches will put on special dramas depicting the Christ Child's birth or chores will perform specials for the holiday. After the church service, people return home for family meals.

Feliz Navidad (Merry Christmas) is a common term you will hear around Christmas in Bolivia. The Christmas Eve mass, Misa Del Gallo (Mass of the Rooster) is a very important part of the Bolivian Christmas because it's believed it would have been a rooster who announced the birth of the baby Jesus. Nativity scenes in homes often include miniatures of things involved in the family's life such as a carpenter's family may place miniature wood furniture or even tools they use for their work. The idea is these miniatures are supposed to represent gifts to Jesus.

Unlike Christmas traditions in other parts of the world Christmas in Bolivia does not center on gifts to each other. On January 6th the Bolivians celebrate Epiphany and the night before that children will set out shoes containing letters to three kings who will leave gifts for them.

Because Christmas in Bolivia is summertime it is common to find bright colored fragrant flowers decorating the dinner table. A favorite dish for Christmas in Bolivia is Picana de Pollo. Picana de Pollo is chicken stew made with peas, carrots and potatoes with raisins or olives added (see end of article for one recipe). Empanadas contain the same ingredients but are wrapped in dough and fried. Pan Dulce Navideño (Christmas Sweet Bread) is the traditional Bolivian treat for Christmas.

If you are looking for a truly beautiful nativity scene for your own home, you may want to search online for one made in Bolivia. There is a workshop in Cochabamba, Bolivia that offers not only a great opportunity for local women but has a variety of nativity scenes for sale. The workshop offers a place for the women to work, earning a fair wages and at the same time share their art creating nativity scenes made of both ceramic and tree pods. While earning a living for their families the workshop also provides daycare and schooling for the women's children.

Note from the author: My parents lived in Bolivia for five years having visited there several times before moving there. While doing medical missionary work in the area around Cochabamba they learned many of the traditions and life styles of the Bolivian people. The however never spent Christmas there as that was the time they choose to come home to Michigan to spend the holidays with family.

I now have two sisters (adopted) who were born in Bolivia and lived there until they were young teenagers. Now in their 20s, the girls have become very Americanized and enjoy our Christmas traditions but still enjoy sharing their traditions and favorite Bolivian foods with us.

Picana de Pollo
(Chicken Stew)
(Serves 8)

Ingredients
1 chicken, cut into eight pieces
2 cups water (if available white wine)
1/2 cup green peas, peeled
1 bay leaf
1 cup white onion, thinly sliced
1 cup tomato, peeled and minced
3 carrots, cut into strips of four
1 fresh chili pepper, cut into eight pieces
1 small thyme branch, minced
1 small celery stick
1/4 cup parsley, finely minced
3 whole-grain black pepper
11/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups water or broth
8 whole potatoes, peeled
16 round slices corn on the cob
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Preparation
1. Put all ingredients in a large casserole, except potatoes. Mix well. Top off the mixture with the potatoes.
2. Cook over low heat for two to three hours.