Christmas in Colombia

Jeff Green | Dec 15, 2021

Colombia is a predominantly Catholic country with its own very well established and popular Christmas traditions.

Starting in October, Christmas lights start to go up, and nativity scenes are dusted off, shined up and installed.

But the season really kicks off on December 7, the 'Día de las Velitas' or 'Day of the Little Candles'. People light colorful candles and place them on sidewalks, balconies, and windowsills in honour of the Virgin Mary, and fireworks displays are common as well. December 8 is a national holiday celebrating the Immaculate Conception.

This tradition dates to the declaration of the Immaculate Conception made by Pope Pius IX in 1854.

Christmas itself starts on December 16, the first day of the Novenas. Families and friends gather at a different house each night for 9 consecutive nights to read the story of the journey of Mary and Joseph that led them to Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus.

Lina Lopez, a Columbian who is currently working on her Masters in Developmental Psychology in Montreal, will miss out on Christmas in Bogota this year.

She talked to the News about the Novenas, Christmas food and family traditions.

“The Novenas come every year, of course, but each year it all gets organised at the last minute. People start calling and talking about who will host each night, at which relative or which friends house. Somehow it all comes together.”

Although there is a different reading every night of the Novenas, marking the progress of Mary and Joseph, much of the Novena ceremony includes chants and songs that are repeated each night, so even people who don't remember some of the words to the songs on December 16, will have them committed to memory by the third our fourth night.

“Every house has a drawer filled with drums and maracas to hand out, and the singing can go on well after the Novena is over. There will definitely be lots of food each night as well.”

The food might include empanadas or other popular dishes but there are two dishes that are associated with the Novenas, and have to be there every night.

One is savoury and one is sweet.

The savoury dish is Bunuelos, a cheese fritter often made with Cassava flour, cornstarch, milk and eggs. In Colombia, the cheese that is used is called Queso Costena. It is a semi-hard salty cheese, somewhat like a Greek Feta. All of the ingredients are brought together to make dough, and pieces moulded into balls, which are deep fried. The saltiness of the cheese is set off by just the right amount of sugar to make a successful Bunuelo.

Making them is a learned skill, and there is a potential for disaster if everything is not done right. “If there are air pockets in the dough, it can cause an explosion when the dough heats up in the hot oil,” Lina said. “It can be quite dangerous.”

In Colombia, bakeries that specialise in Bunuelos do a brisk business during the Novenas.

“Everybody wants the Bunuelos to be fresh. The orders come into the bakeries in the morning and people line up at the best Bunuelo bakeries, in the early evening, to pick up their order, just in time for the Novena,” Lina said.

In addition to the Bunuelos there is Natilla, a special Flan that can be made in four or five versions, and at least two different Natilla's are expected at a proper Novena.

In Lina's family, her aunt Nubia is the “Queen of the Natilla”.

“Even if she is not able to come to a Novena because she is busy or is invited somewhere else, her Natilla are there, and they are always just right.”

Different flavours of Natilla include the standard caramel flan flavour, as well as a very white cinnamon coconut flan served with blackberries.

For drinks, a lot of people drink beer or wine at Novenas, and some take a 'tinto' of strong coffee. Aguardiente, an anise flavoured alcohol, is the traditional spirit in Colombia.

“It is not a drink that I really like,” said Lina, “but Canelazo, which is a hot drink with cinnamon and sugar along with Aguadiente, is not as bad.”

Christmas Eve is the feast day for Colombians. Many different foods are eaten; ham, stuffed pork or turkey in many families, although Lina's family is vegetarian so they eat a rice dish that is almost like a vegetarian Paella.

At midnight presents are delivered by the baby Jesus in most Catholic families, although Santa Claus has been making some inroads in Colombia in recent years. Midnight mass takes place after the gift giving, at about 12:30 am.

Christmas Day is a rest day, kind of like Boxing Day in North America. All of the traditions have been carried out, and it is time to eat leftovers and be lazy.

For Lina, the aroma of Christmas in Colombia is canela, or cinnamon, and the signature taste is the salty, slightly sweet, crispy and soft Bunuelo.

Recipe

(Out of concern for the safety of our readers, we are not including Bunuelos in our Colombian recipes. We will stick with a Natilla recipe”)

INGREDIENTS

12 servings
5 cups of milk
½ cup of sugar
½ cup of brown sugar
3 cinnamon sticks
1 and ¼ cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon of butter
Ground cinnamon for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

Pour 4 cups of milk into a big pot. Then add the sugars, and cinnamon sticks. Stir all ingredients with a wooden spoon and bring milk to a boil over medium low heat.

When the milk comes to a boil, remove from the stove and let it sit for about 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the cornstarch with the remaining milk until dissolved.

Put the pot back on the stove, over medium low heat. Remove the cinnamon sticks and pour the dissolved cornstarch into the hot milk and add butter. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until it thickens and you can see the bottom of the pot.

Pour immediately into a serving dish and let it cool for at least an hour. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon.