December is a month of celebrations in Nicaragua, the Purísima (see my Dec 08 post too) is to celebrate the conception of the Virgin Mary and the miracles she has performed. My good friend and Nicaragua expert, Miguel, was telling me, on a recent visit to Leon, that the Purísima is to give thanks to Mary for stopping a volcanic eruption that was threatening a Nicaraguan city. I have not found this explanation anywhere else, but I will keep asking around about it. La Gritería (The Shouting) happens on the Purísima's Eve. People go around to houses with alters made to Mary and sing to her and the people in the house then hand out treats such as sour lemons, chicha drink, sugar cane, molasses based candies and noise makers. Its almost like trick or treating and Christmas caroling put together. I wanted to go to Leon to see the celebration (because like most things, Leon does it better than anyone). But Ivan and I ended up being busy with work that weekend, so we didnt go :(
Ivan and I did go out during La Gritería to see what we could see.
I enjoyed hearing stories about when Ivan was young and he used to partake in the festivities and get all the sugar cane that he could! Ivan is also quite the traditionalist and hates to see how commercial the holiday has become with households now giving out candy bars and such. Most of the people participating are very poor and carry around large sacks to collect all they can. Others however are devout Catholics and of course lots of kids. The government also sets up alters downtown and hands out beans, rice and oil to the poor. Ivan and I drove through downtown after it had ended and it was horribly amazing to see how much trash was littered all over the streets. It was jaw dropping.
One of the best parts is the firecrackers everyone sets off at noon, 6 pm and midnight. It is really fun to hear hundreds going off at once and it last for 10 minutes or so too!
Christmas in Nicaragua is celebrated on Christmas Eve. Families get together and have a late dinner (around midnight)open presents and set off fire crackers. I will see this tradition first hand tomorrow night!
In the meantime, here are a couple good articles from Times magazine about Nicaragua and Christmas:
Nicaragua: Where Everyday is Christmas
Have Yourself a Sandinista Christmas
Merry Christmas!
