United States Edition
Noche Buena leads today's complete edition for United States.
Daily Edition
Official observances, world days, local context, and everyday celebrations for people who need something worth reading, sharing, or talking about today.
The real Christmas. Families gather, the Viejito Pascuero (Santa Claus) leaves gifts under the tree, and the pan de Pascua and cola de mono flow. The meal is late, the conversation is long, and at midnight everyone hugs. Christmas in Chile is Noche Buena. December 25th is just the aftermath.
The real celebration is the 24th, not the 25th. The whole family gathers at midnight for vitel tone, pan dulce, and sidra. The heat is brutal, the fan is on high, and someone always sets off fireworks in the street. At midnight, the toast happens and kids run around with globo lanterns.
In Italian-American families, this is the Feast of the Seven Fishes. Seven courses of seafood, served on Christmas Eve. The tradition comes from Southern Italy, where Christmas Eve was a day of fasting (no meat), and fish was allowed. In America, the Feast of the Seven Fishes is a celebration of heritage, family, and the fact that your grandmother can make seven different fish dishes and still have room for dessert. In Norwegian-American families, Christmas Eve is the day you serve lutefisk (dried cod soaked in lye), which is an acquired taste that most people never acquire. In Mexican-American families, Christmas Eve is Nochebuena, celebrated with tamales, ponche (fruit punch), and a midnight mass that ends at 2 AM.