Christmas in Medellin

Lights along the River Medellin

The flight from Panama City to Medellin, Colombia, was only an hour long. That’s how long the flight is between Baltimore and Providence - just a seven hour drive. However, there is no road connecting Panama and Colombia, so I flew and the rest of my friends took a sailboat down the coast.

Before I had even landed in Medellin, the girl sitting next to me on the plane offered to accompany me on the bus into the city so that I wouldn’t have to front an expensive cab fare to arrive at my friend Omar’s house. She even explained the value of the different bills to me in U.S. dollars ($1000 peso = ~ $7 USD) after I had exchanged some money.

I arrived to Omar’s house a day and a half before Omar and the rest of my friends, because they missed their flight due to sailing delays. I hung out with Omar’s cousins for the day, going grocery shopping and to the meat shop in preparation for the big Christmas eve meal, and later going clothes shopping with his aunt.Hanging out with the family: aunt and grandmother

Catholics in Colombia and probably in most Latin American countries celebrate novena, which is the 9 nights before Jesus was born. Each of the 9 nights, the family gathers around the manger scene and sings and reads passages from the Bible. I was present for the 23^rd and the 24^th, the last two nights. On Christmas eve I also went to Mass. It was definitely the most exciting church service I have ever attended, with a Nativity reenactment with live baby, and a youth dance troupe that danced to poppy hymns with candles and long banners.

Nativity scene in the house

My friends caught a flight to arrive in time for Christmas eve, which is the main Christmas celebration. The family set up a tent on the street outside and grilled meat on a grill. After the novena, everyone went around and hugged and kissed everyone else in the room, and then a few presents were exchanged among family members but it was not a big thing. Then the party continued until the early morning.

I was very pleased with my Colombian Christmas. I was able to share it with some of my closest Peace Corps friends as well as a welcoming family. I witnessed that Christmas can be fully celebrated without being frantic or stressful, and I hope to replicate this in the future.