Holidays: Merry Christmas from the Equator!

I'm not sure if many of you have come to the realization yet that I am the only expat in my family. Arturo was born here, Kesha was born here, and Kalah was born here. I was not.

Holidays are the hardest time to be an expat and the time when I feel most alone.

Don't get me wrong, the traditions, the activities, the food and festivities are all wonderful. But there's a reason the song "I'll be Home for Christmas" was written. It's always hard to be away from where you're from because if you're not there it's just not the same.

Rather than dwell on the fact that I didn't go to the US during the winter holidays this year, I'm going to share a bit about local traditions and customs here in Ecuador (well, at least in Cuenca, where I live).

Christmas here is a completely religious holiday. No Santa. No reindeer. Lots of lights and lots of Baby Jesus.

The 24th in the morning brings a parade celebrating the passage of Mary and Joseph to the manger in Bethlehem where Jesus was born, called Pase del Niño Viajero.  This specific Pase del Niño is an all day event and is well worth watching (at least a bit of it). You can see such parades throughout the months of December and January, but the parade on the 24th is by far the biggest.

The eve of the 24th families gather together to celebrate with a Christmas dinner followed by a midnight mass. We let Kesha open her big present the afternoon of Christmas eve day. She got a kitchen, something we have been talking about getting her for a long time. Thanks to my parents we were able to splurge and get her one (thank you Nana and Grandpa!). She was very excited, to say the very least (look at that face!).

Late in the evening we had our turkey dinner (hosted by my mother-in-law), exchanged a few small gifts, then went home and to bed.

Since my family has always been a Christmas morning family, we opted to open the presents my parents mailed to the girls on Christmas morning. It was very fun and low key.

As a plug for reading to young children (you're welcome mom), every year my mom does "A Book on Every Bed" for the girls. You wrap a new book (it can be checked out from the library) and put it a the foot of the kids' beds while they sleep. It is the first present they open on Christmas morning. I won't go in to detail here, but please do take a look at the program's website and consider doing it with your kids (or grandkids)!

Although this Christmas was different (even Kesha will tell you that it's cold and snows at Christmas time... not 100 degrees hahaha different realities are so interesting) it was wonderful. I truly enjoyed our quiet little Christmas. However, I am still dying inside that we didn't get a Santa picture for Kalah's first Christmas (dying inside... DYING!!!)

Again, I realize this post is over a month late, as is my holiday greeting, but Merry Christmas everyone!