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Christmas in Ecuador
Christmas in Ecuador
By Earll Murman
January 1, 2002 |
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We often think of our Ecuador & Galapagos trip last December and its many wonderful experiences. We were in Otavalo for the Christmas holidays. In Ecuador, Christmas eve seems to be more like our Thanksgiving. It is time for family dinners and church services. There are some parades, but we missed them. Christmas day is really a normal day. That year it was on a Saturday, so we went to the animal market in Otavalo at dawn. After spending time at the market, my son David and I went for a hike up a 14,000 foot mountian.
Quito was lots of fun for New Year's. On December 31, Quito turns into a giant street party. The main street, Amazonas, is shut to traffic and there are all sorts of sales people, food, and displays. People are milling everywhere, some wearing masks and all having fun. There was some drinking, but it was not excessive. Bands played and people danced. Interestingly, many go home before midnight to celebrate the New Year with family. We went out for dinner at a nice restaurant, which was a 10 minute taxi ride from downtown, then got stranded as there wasn't a taxi available around midnight. So I would suggest not taking taxis. New Year's day itself was just a normal day of rest.
An interesting tradition throughout the whole country is the stuffing and burning of effigies. These start appearing everywhere in the days before New Year's, and go up in flames at midnight, although some burn earlier in the day. People dress up in costumes, much like our Halloween, and ask passersby for money to support the need to burn the effigies. If you are driving in a car or taxi, expect to get "held up" for this money. It is all in good fun, but does get a little tiresome shelling out coins.
We found the people in Ecuador very friendly and felt quite lucky to celebrate the holidays there. It was certainly different than our normal celebration, and we are the better for the experience.
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