Cuban Christmas

There is another heavy influence on the holiday as well. In keeping with almost any other event there, Christmas traditions are strongly influenced by the Latin heritage of the people who live on the island.

The History of the Cuban Holiday

Mingling a combination of Latin music and culture, the celebration of Christmas prior to the reign of Castro involved a two-week long festivity. On December 24, Christmas Eve, it was tradition to begin celebration with an extravagant feast. Whole families, and sometimes, whole neighborhoods, would gather together for the Christmas feast, and the celebration would last throughout the day. The festivities would be highlighted with boisterous Latin style rhythms, usually referred to as Danzon Music. On Christmas Day, the festivity would continue, but activities would switch from dining and bright music, to a religious ceremony. A traditional procession of friends and family would gather to put a model of the newborn Christ in a manger. The rest of the day would involve celebration with family.

Finally, a few weeks after December 25, the end of the Christmas celebration would come in the form of another symbolic Cuban ritual. On January 6, Children in Cuba would be given three gifts to represent the three gifts of the Magi.

A Cuban Christmas Dinner
Christmas Recipes

The main course of the meal is often a roasted pig, which is cooked outside over a pit for many hours.
Side dishes will often include traditional Cuban dishes of the area such as plantains, black beans and rice, and Cuban bread. Desserts are an important part of Cuban Christmas traditions, and there are numerous types of sweet items that are often served.
Cuban Christmas recipes for specialty sugar cookies and flan are often baked and served. Other dessert items may include puddings and rum cakes.

For those interested in trying out Cuban Christmas food, there are plenty of traditional Cuban recipes that can be found. For example, here is a recipe for Cuban Rice Pudding as found on the website www.foodbycountry.com:
Arroz Con Leche (Rice Pudding)
Ingredients
• ½ cup rice
• 1 cup sugar
• 1½ cups water
• 1 quart milk
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 lemon rind
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Ground cinnamon
Procedure
1. Boil the rice with water, lemon rind, and cinnamon stick in a pot until soft, stirring occasionally.
2. Reduce heat to low.
3. Add milk, salt, vanilla, and sugar.
4. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until thick (about 1 hour).
5. Sprinkle with cinnamon and serve.
Serves 8.

Cuban Christmas traditions have long been overpowered by the total rule of a communist government.
In fact, even today, you would rarely see a Christmas Tree or twinkling lights. Many of the religious elements of the holiday were long banned as well. However, in the last few years, since the ban on the holiday has been lifted, more and more Cuban people have begun to move back to the Cuban Christmas of decades past.
Of course, as with any real celebration on the island, a Christmas feast includes Latin music, large meals, and an emphasis on family.

Waiting For Snow in Havana

Cuban Christmas Gifts

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