¡Colores!; SW Xmas; A Southwest Christmas

You You You Christmas

began on December 25th when a star rose in the east and the savior was born. From that day people around the world have celebrated Christmas in many different ways. Songs are sung, prayers are set, and gifts exchanged on this day of goodwill towards all. Deep in the heart of America ancient traditions live today. The rich colors and diverse rituals of the Christmas season blend together in the American Southwest, especially in New Mexico. Here Christmas is celebrated with great diversity in

spirit. The drum beat of the Matatina's dance. La Posales with a reenactment of Mary and Joseph searching for a place to stay the night. The procession of the Virgin of Guadalupe. This is a place where the traditions of the old and new worlds meet in a unique mixture of cultures and history. They have met at a crossroads and now sing in a combined voice, the voice of many peoples, the voice of 2 ,000 years. Farolitos glow and the heat of the luminaries warm the crisp December air. This catitos stuff the

pockets of children as they run to join the procession of Las Posales. The traditional songs in English and Spanish joins the music from the dances of the native pueblos to create a harmony of faith in the community. These voices can be heard echoing throughout the sangre de Cristo mountains and the snowy deserts of New Mexico as we celebrate a Southwest Christmas. The beauty of Christmas in the southwest is unique and breath -taking. Oftentimes when diverse roads cross the unique rituals of one culture's traditions become enriched by those of another to make something rare and beautiful. One of the simple yet luminous traditions that exists in the Southwest is that of the bonfire and the little lantern or as we call them the

luminaria and the farolito. They are more than decoration, they are an invitation to celebrate Christmas. On Christmas Eve in New Mexico the cold twilight warms to the flickers of hundreds of luminaries square stacks of pinion wood make bonfires that light the path of the faithful for the coming of the Christ child. This tradition was brought by Franciscan missionaries from Spain in the 1600s. On Christmas Eve Spanish colonists and Indians came to the Adobe missions to celebrate the birth of Christ. Between the bonfires the soft glow of thousands of simple votive candles and paper bags filled with sand, line streets, fences and rooftops.

These little lanterns or farolitos burn in the memory of our elders and provide a simple char and beauty to Christmas Eve. Farolitos came from Spanish traders who took a liking to the simple paper lanterns they saw in China. Brought back through the Philippines and into Mexico the farolito traveled north and the Camino Real to Santa Fe. But the fragile paper lanterns did not last long on the frontier. In the mid -1900s when the Americanos came over the Santa Fe Trail they introduced new Christmas traditions such as

Santa Claus. They also brought the simple brown paper bag and with a little ingenuity the farolito became one of the Southwest's most recognized and cherished Christmas traditions. One of the things that makes the Southwest unique during the Christmas season are some of the unique traditions. Unique in that they are kind of a compendium of all of the cultures that blend in together. When you talk about some of those it includes the tradition of farolitos which means little lanterns and it doesn't matter the cultural background be it indigenous be it Hispanic and then of course the tradition has been picked up by the newcomer

that comes in and sees this is something very beautiful very unique. So the point to where there are now farolitos tours that take place in different locations throughout Santa Fe throughout Tucson throughout Albuquerque. The preparation involved in the making and placing of farolitos can begin days prior to Christmas Eve. Mounds of fine sand are unloaded at the preparation site. Small paper bags are bought a shovel full of sand and the candle is placed into each bag. They are then set out by the thousands to line rooftops streets and walkways. They're not expensive or fancy decorations but the simplicity of these small

lights have a beauty all their own and cast a special magic overall. As the sun sets the luminarius and farolitos invite the travelers or what in fact maybe neighbors and friends to come inside and warm themselves by the fire and to share some cider and perhaps a holiday feast. Afterwards the children gather around a cozy fire and listen as Christmas stories are told. And the day before Christmas Roberto was going up the road one day down in the north of Santa Fe. Roberto thought of nothing more significant than what Indiana could do with the war and wouldn't pack set

in the rose fire. Was the Larson Christopher to the half of the hill. I love Christmas in every facet and I love Christmas not only in New Mexican style but the other facets of the other parts of the world because everything everyone adds to it and everyone adds to it in a sense that has meaning. So for example for us to begin every year the Christmas season with the Virgen de Guadalupe and the apparitions in Mexico City 1531 to an Indian. It is beautiful. And it is beautiful. According to the legend the Virgin of

Guadalupe appeared outside of Mexico City to Juan Diego an Indian who had converted to Christianity. The Virgin glowed radianfully and told Don Diego to build a church so that she could heal the pain and suffering of the children. Diego told the local bishop of his encounter with the luminous woman and tried to convince him to build the church. When the skeptical bishop demanded proof in the form of a sign from heaven the lady of Guadalupe instructed Diego to cut roses from the frozen hillside as proof. Of her identity. The Virgin gave him the roses and said no and take heed the least of my sons that I am only Mary if for Virgin Mother of the true God for whom we live the creator of the world maker of heaven and

earth. I urgently desire that a temple should be built to me here to bear witness to my love and to my compassion for I am a merciful mother to thee and to all thy fellow people in these lands who love me and trust me and who evoke my help. He wrapped the roses in his cloak and took them to the bishop. When he opened his cloak the image of the lady of Guadalupe appeared on the cloth. Throughout the southwest the Christmas season begins on December

12th with celebrations of the miracle of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Some of the traditions in New Mexico include those things that extend time -wise during the calendar year all all the way from the operation of our lady of Guadalupe to El Indio Juan Diego and the Cerro de Tepayac north of Mexico City on the 12th of December in the middle of the 1500s all the way to the 6th of June which is the day of los tres reyes magos you know the the three wise men and everything in between. The apparitions of our Lady Guadalupe to the Indian Juan Diego you know and all of the songs that have been written about that are very important.

I think people that come from other places to New Mexico to celebrate the season to celebrate Christmas are taken not only by the the season and how much it's celebrated and a kind of a continuity that there is in traditions and then on top of that you have the other cultures that have come to New Mexico each one lending its own tradition its own uniqueness you put them all together and I think you've got one of the most interesting and colorful traditions that have to do with the season.

The procession of the Virgin of Guadalupe is shared by entire communities people with different backgrounds and beliefs joined together to welcome the Christmas season in a tribute to the mother of Jesus. What Christmas cards are to the rest of America Christmas foods are to New Mexico. The gift

of Christmas foods are meant to warm the soul to the season. The traditional foods of the southwestern Christmas differ from yet complement the other American foods of the holiday season. Tamales, enchiladas, empanadas and steaming bowls of Pasoli, a harmony stew, warm guests coming in from the cold of the high desert December evenings. The recipes for many of these New Mexican dishes have their roots in the native traditions of the Anasazi recipes with corn, beans and simple flatbread. Tortillas that have been handed down through the generations make up these lively feasts that are shared with neighbors, friends and our highlights of the holiday season in New Mexico. Bienvenidos a mi casa. Welcome to my home.

Today we're going to make one of the southwest's favorite Christmas treats called the biscochito. Simple ingredients such as eggs, lard and sugar are combined with flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Aniseed is later added to give them their unique taste. Like my rolling pin, that's a southwestern rolling pin. We use broom handles to make our rolling pins. They didn't believe me when I told them that. That's what we used to make them out of. See how nicely that rolls out? And you can gauge the thickness of it according to how thick you want your cookies. I like mine wafer thin. Some people like them fat. These cookies should take about 15 to 18 minutes to bake they don't get brown on top. They get brown underneath and you check them. If they get brown on top then they burn

easily because they have so much sugar in them. Here we go. They're ready for the oven. Now, ready for the final product. They have to cool just a little bit so that you don't burn your fingers coating them with the cinnamon and sugar. Okay, we're going to start sugar them. I like to put three or four in a bowl at one time and that way goes a little faster. Here we go. Now comes the acid test. Let's see. Yes. Be sure you make plenty because you're going to go fast.