Christmas Eve

 As Christmas grew nearer, Alejandro's family had done nothing to decorate the house for the holidays.  Finally, on Christmas Eve day the decorations came out.

A skinny tree, similar to the one that Alejandro had given me for the apartment

A small lighted table-top tree

A cute Nativity scene

Alejandro put lights on the wreath that he had bought earlier at the handicrafts market on the Zócalo and hung it on the door.

Around 9 PM we had our traditional Christmas Eve dinner.  We had a feast that did not require cooking on the part of Alejandro or his sister.  Alejandro has a former student who is now a chef and sells traditional Christmas dishes already prepared.  He had ordered food from her. In the afternoon we drove to her house and picked up dinner to take back home.

We had pork loin in "adobo" sauce and a fruit salad of apples, pineapple and nuts.  In the lower left corner is something I had never had before that is very traditional for Christmas... "romeritos".  "Romeritos" are greens that are served in "mole".  I wasn't sure if I would like it because the "mole" is seasoned with dried shrimp.  I don't care for shrimp, but I really couldn't taste it in the sauce.  I did pass however on the shrimp patties ("tortas de camerón") that are served with the "romeritos".

In addition, Alejandro's aunt had sent over another traditional Christmas dish, "bacalao a la vizcaina" (Basque-style cod).  

The shredded cod is served with tomatoes, green olives, capers, almonds and other ingredients.  I have had it before and liked it, but this was too salty for my taste, and Alejandro agreed with me.

After supper it is traditional to exchange gifts, but Alejandro's father was tired and wanted to go to bed.  So, Santa Claus will have to wait until today.

Even the dogs were tired.

Alejandro, his sister and his nephew, and I stayed up until midnight.  We went outside and lit sparklers to welcome the arrival of Christmas.

It used to be that all the neighbors would come out on the street at midnight and wish each other a happy Christmas, but only one next door neighbor came out.  There were, however, a lot of firecrackers being set off in the area.

So now it's Christmas Day, and, as I write this, I am the only one awake.  It is usually a very quiet day... just relaxing and eating leftovers.

Best wishes for a 

¡Feliz Navidad!