Christmas Around the World, Part 2 - Colombia & Venezuela!
During this Advent season, we are taking a trip around the world, exploring Christmas traditions from different countries. Our second stop is Latin America, specifically Colombia and Venezuela, which share the tradition of "pesebres" and "cartas al Niño Dios."
A pesebre ("crib") is a type of nativity scene that depicts not only the manger itself but the entire town of Bethlehem and its surrounding countryside, sometimes even the entire region. These large, detailed, lovingly-crafted scenes can include both sculpted and painted elements.
Your family might enjoy looking at some of these beautiful scenes. We've attached a few examples to this post, and invite you to do an image search of "pesebres colombianos" if you'd like to see more. Perhaps you'd even like to paint a backdrop for your own nativity scene!
Another tradition common in Colombia and Venezuela also involves the pesebre: Cartas al Niño Dios, or letters to the Baby Jesus. Instead of writing to Santa, children address their letters to Baby Jesus himself, and place them in the pesebre. These letters often include descriptions of gifts the children would like to receive, but also offer the opportunity for your kiddos to write about how they'll show Jesus their love for him on his birthday, or to include prayers for people in their lives. We've attached a letter-writing template to this post if you'd like to take part in this tradition - whether or not you've got a pesebre in your home.
You may find it adds some extra joy to your pesebre painting or carta writing to listen to music while you work, and what better way to get in the holiday mood than by listening to Christmas carols, or villancicos (vee-yahn-SEE-kos). A very well-known villancico in Colombia and Venezuela is called "Mi Burrito Sabanero," or "My Little Donkey from the Savannah." You can find a video of this festive song here.
As Christmas draws closer, we'll continue to explore celebrations from around the world; as you travel along with us, feel free to share your photos and stories with us on our Facebook page!