Puerto Ricans Do Christmas Different

First of all, Christmas is so loooong here! From the week-end after Thanksgiving till the Sunday following Jan 6 is Christmas! 

The main Puerto Rican holiday is not Christmas, but Three Kings day, on January 6th. To celebrate, the kids keep shoe boxes under their beds filled with grass for the horses of the wise men. In Puerto Rico, the wise men always ride horses, never camels.

Then their parents sneak in at night and take the grass out and put the presents in the shoe boxes. In the morning the kids find the grass gone, proof that the wise men came and fed their horses the grass. The presents left behind are in gratitude for the kindness of the children for feeding their horses. 

I like this because at least it is more from the Bible than many of our traditions..

But because the United States now governs Puerto Rico, they celebrate Dec 25th with American customs besides just the January 6th festival. Christmas here now comes complete with inflatable snowmen and reindeer in the yards. Of course all the kids want presents on BOTH Christmas AND Reyes (Three Kings Day)! 

We have an unusual custom called Matutinos (Ma too TEEN ohs). It involves sneaking up on houses in the middle of the night and singing until they invite you in for a snack. Our church people do it every year and it is a lot of fun. We used to do it till 4 AM some weekends, but I guess I am getting older, because I am ready to head for home after midnight! 

Of course, if you stay at home, they may sneak up on you! Nothing like having 25 or so surprise guests drop by in the middle of the night for coffee and snacks! Of course we read the bible story of Christmas and sing Christmas hymns. It is a lot of fun, but it does take a little getting used to! Fortunately for us, that didn't take too long.