poinsettias

poinsettias
Nativity

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

"Navidad" is on its Way

The Mexican Revolution began on November 20th in 1910.  But Revolution Day, a legal holiday, is now celebratedon  on the third Monday of November, creating one of those three-day weekends that Mexicans refer to as a "puente" (bridge).  There was, I suppose, a military parade downtown to mark the occasion.  However most people here were probably more interested in the fact that Revolution Day weekend is also the "Buen Fin", the weekend that is the equivalent of Black Friday north of the border.  All of the stores were offering big sales and extended hours.  Christmas decorations and advertisements started to appear as soon as Day of the Dead was over, but the "Buen Fin" is the official beginning of the Christmas shopping season.  

 An impressive, although artificial, Christmas tree was set up in "Reforma 222", a shopping mall along the Paseo de la Reforma.

A smaller (and also artificial) tree was set up in the shopping center down the street from my apartment.

The "Buen Fin" was begun in 2011 as a way to boost the economy with increased  consumption, but critics state that it has led to increased credit card debt among the Mexican people. 

No comments:

Post a Comment