State’s Hispanics blend Christmas traditions

It’s Christmas eve and anticipation is in the air. As the moon shines down, relatives gather for a late supper. Sleep is not too far off for some of the youngest children, whose heads nod over their tamales and ponche, a fruity drink. Others are wide-awake after consuming candy from the piñata and visiting with family. 
   
As the clock strikes midnight, a flurry of activity erupts; it’s Christmas Day. Cries of “Feliz Navidad!” fill the air as Christmas hugs are exchanged. Then it’s off to the tree to open presents and outside to shoot fireworks. Finally, around 2 a.m., everyone bundles off to bed.
   
Welcome to Christmas for many Hispanics in Alabama. Although traditions may differ according to their countries of origin, Hispanic leaders in the state say it is a time of family and celebrating the birth of Jesus.
   
Carlos Lemus, Hispanic missionary for Autauga and Chilton Baptist associations, said that in his native Guatemala, Christmas is a season filled with caroling from house to house and long visits with family and friends. Lemus, who is president of the Hispanic Baptist Fellowship of Alabama, said the Christmas eve celebration is the crowning moment of the season and some attend church services on Christmas Day, but only after all have had a chance to sleep.
   
“Do not dare visit a Hispanic family on Christmas morning,” he said with a laugh.
   
In Mexico, the Christmas eve celebration is much the same, but the season lasts until Jan. 6, according to Mario Saenz, Hispanic missionary for Etowah Baptist Association. That day is Three Kings Day and is when most of the presents are exchanged.
   
Children put their shoes by the door on the night of Jan. 5, ready to be filled with goodies as the kings come by. The next morning, the shoes are recovered and the gifts opened.
   
In Alabama, that tradition still holds strong for many Mexican families, while the Christmas eve gift-giving has increased, Saenz and Lemus noted. 
   
Ed Ables, catalytic missionary  for the North Alabama Baptist Hispanic Ministry Coalition, has seen a change in the decorations as well. Ables and his wife served 25 years as International Mission Board missionaries to Ecuador and Argentina.
   
“The biggest difference is (Hispanics in Alabama) have more money and merchandise to get more decorations like Christmas trees,” he said, explaining that in Ecuador and Argentina a tree branch is often used to symbolize the Christmas tree. 
   
The increased income and availability of merchandise has also contributed to the gift-giving, Ables noted.
   
Although elaborate decorations and Christmas trees are common sights in Mexico, Saenz said that many of the decorations for the trees there are made of paper, instead of the glass and plastic ornaments available in Alabama.
   
Hispanics, however, take great care in the display of the Nacimiento, or nativity scene. Saenz said some scenes feature costumed statues set up on fabric with backdrops to invoke scenes of Bethlehem. Some will be very large, with drapes and lights.
   
Lemus noted that this display has been tempered in some homes in Alabama with the introduction of Santa Claus and his reindeer.
   
“I would like the Hispanic families not to forget or put aside nativities because they are a reminder of what Christmas is really about,” Lemus said. “Sometimes people teach their children to believe in Santa Claus first before belief in Christ.”
   
One tradition that has not carried over into America is the posadas. Done in both Mexico and Guatemala, people portraying Mary and Joseph travel from house to house, visiting one house a night. When they arrive, they sing, asking the house’s occupants for shelter. The occupants sing back, denying them shelter and telling them to find another place. 
   
Once the drama is enacted, the actors are invited inside for food, a piñata for the children and dancing for the adults. This occurs every night Dec. 16–24. The last night, after Mary and Joseph ask for shelter, they are invited in and a Christmas eve celebration ensues.
   
As the traditions from their home countries are imported into and influenced by American culture, some Hispanic ministries seek to use them to reach out to Hispanics in the area.
   
Lemus said Autauga and Chilton associations are holding a joint Hispanic Christmas eve party Dec. 24 that will feature all the traditional decorations and celebrations.
   
It will be at La Mission Hispana in Autauga County, on U.S. Highway 31, south of Verbena.
   
He noted that it will be held earlier in the evening, around 4 p.m., so that families can attend, as well as hold their family celebrations.
   
Primera Bautista Iglesia Hispana Etowah, where Saenz is pastor, is sponsoring a Christmas celebration at Cove Creek Baptist Church, Glencoe, in Etowah Association, Dec. 17 at 5 p.m.. 
   
The celebration, however, will have a different twist on the traditional, featuring the elements of an Alabama Christmas. 
   
Drama and music will replace the piñata, ham and turkey will replace the tamales and salmon and toys will be given to the children.
   
Saenz said he encourages Hispanics in the association to embrace the American culture and traditions.
   
“In the beginning, I tried to keep in mind my Hispanic heritage,” Saenz said. “But I changed my mind and encouraged (Hispanics) to incorporate the culture here because many of them have been born here and need to be a part of the culture here.”
   
For some, celebrating Christmas according to American traditions is the only connection they may have with the Americans around them, he said. Saenz explained that many of the Hispanics in Etowah Association are from Guatemala and speak a Guatemalan dialect instead of Spanish. 
   
Their children attend school and learn English there, but typically the parents do not learn English. 
   
Celebrating Christmas the American way can form a bridge for these families between the old culture and new.
   
But whether celebrated with a piñata and tamales or Christmas ham and English carols, the focus of the associational Christmas celebrations will be on the true reason for the season, Lemus and Saenz said. They will focus on Christ as Savior and Lord, Lemus said.
   
“Always, in everything I do, that’s my target — to present the gospel,” he said.