Celebrating Honduran - and Gringo - Christmas in Honduras!

Christmas celebrations are a little different in Honduras. Hondurans celebrate on the 24th with a big evening meal. The dinner is typically roasted chicken or pork leg, mashed potatoes or rice, and, of course, tamales. Oh, and there should be a Coke to wash it all down. 

Honduran tamales - wrapped in banana leaves

Following the meal, it’s time for presents. Maybe. There are presents if you can afford them and no presents if you can’t. There’s no shame or stigma associated with not giving or receiving presents. If there are presents, they will be new clothes to wear immediately. Traditionally, Hondurans wear new clothes for Christmas. Unless the budget didn’t allow for the purchase of a new shirt or a new pair of pants. That’s okay, too. Brandy and Rachel explained that the joke is that Hondurans leave the tags on the clothes so people know a piece is new. But, really, it’s because people are rushing to put on the articles of clothing immediately. It’s not unusual for someone to overlook a sticker or tag.  

There are firecrackers popping throughout the evening. Kids are running around, which isn’t great from a safety perspective, but it’s tradition! By 11:55 pm, the explosion of firecrackers ramps up. If you happen to have more affluent neighbors who can afford to purchase larger fireworks, the sight at midnight will be even more festive. Rachel shared a bit of trivia by saying that for missionary kids raised in Honduras, “the smell of gunpowder is recognized as a Christmas smell!” 

After the popping and cracking has wound down, everyone goes inside to exchange hugs and wish each other a Merry Christmas. Since everyone is going to bed late, it’s normal to sleep until noon on Christmas Day. 

Brandy explained that Christmas traditions are changing a little due to the technology that allows people in Honduras to see how other cultures are celebrating. Wealthier families might do a little extra where food, decorations, and presents are concerned. However, a typical family would never expect to have a decked out Christmas tree and things like bikes and toys for the kids. Christmas in Honduras isn’t seen as a particularly child-focused day. That’s why Sowers4Pastors decided to make Children’s Day the holiday they celebrate with the children in the sponsorship programs.

Christmas also falls during coffee season. People in the small mountain villages are often harvesting coffee throughout December. A lot of the kids are picking coffee during this time, too. This is an immensely important time because, for many families, it’s when they earn the money they will need to meet their needs for the year. It’s how they get enough money to send their kids to school in February. It wouldn’t make sense to blow the budget on elaborate Christmas gifts, a tree, and more food than they could possibly consume. 

Brandy and Rachel also talked about how they incorporate Honduran traditions and American traditions in their family. For the most part, it works great. Christmas Eve is always spent with Brandy’s side of the family and Christmas day with Rachel’s. The most challenging thing is that they are getting to bed late after Christmas Eve celebrations only to get up early for their boys to open presents under the tree on Christmas morning. 

Besides sleep deprivation, the Christmas struggle Brandy and Rachel had to face involved money. Rachel leaned toward the American version: a big meal, presents, and decorations. When she mentioned the big meal, Brandy was in the background good-naturedly shouting, “Too much food!”’ Rachel reigns in the spending, considering Brandy before dropping dough on Christmas decorations. Though she does still like to put up a Christmas tree quite early. And she says that, as the kids have gotten older, Brandy is also excited to see them enjoying the North American Christmas traditions. 

A Honduran tradition that didn’t get mentioned before involves paying visits to neighbors on Christmas Eve. Rachel said, “Brandy has always been good friends with elderly people. Come Christmas, that’s a helpful thing. You visit the neighbors, starting at about 5:00 or 6:00 and they will feed you. Brandy made that work for him as a teenager. He would go to four different houses and eat at each house.” When Rachel and Brandy started dating and she would accompany him, they had to figure out a way to discreetly sneak some of the food off of her plate and onto Brandy’s. It’s not that she doesn’t enjoy tamales, but consuming four meals prior to the family meal is a whole lot of eating!

However you celebrate the holiday, Feliz Navidad!

And from the whole crew at Sowers4Pastors, we wish you a Blessed Christmas celebrating Christ's birth!

- posted by Christi