Christmas in Nicaragua

The culture of Nicaragua is rich with ancient traditions. In fact, the Nicaragua culture relies heavily on older Spanish traditions when celebrating many holidays. One of those holidays are Christmas. If one wants to visit Nicaragua for Christmas, they may want to take advantage of Nicaragua culture to celebrate the holiday in a different way. The residents of Nicaragua have many Christmas traditions.

• The culture of Nicaragua derives from many Spanish countries. One activity that occurs in the culture of Nicaragua when celebrating Christmas includes participating in the celebration that is known as Las Posadas. In Nicaragua culture, Las Posadas is a reenactment of the birth of Jesus Christ that lasts nine days. Within the nine days, the story of Mary and Joseph looking for an inn to have the baby is performed. This piece of Nicaragua culture is one of the oldest Spanish traditions that are practiced.

• Giving away small gifts like little toys and candy is also part of the Christmas culture of Nicaragua. Religious items are also popular gifts to give at Christmas per Nicaragua culture. These small gifts are opened on Christmas, while fireworks are shot off. In Nicaragua culture, Christmas Eve is the evening of an important midnight mass. After mass, a homemade meal is an important part of the Christmas culture of Nicaragua. Nicaragua culture, like other countries, relies on particular foods. In the United States, turkey or goose are popular Christmas dinners. In Nicaragua, chicken tamales and homemade desserts and candies is the meal of choice for Nicaraguan residents.

• However, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day is not the only important dates in Christmas Nicaragua culture. Other important dates are December 7th, which is La Griteria and January 6th, which is called the feast of Epiphany. On La Griteria, children go from house to house in the quest for candy and small toys, much like the United States’ Halloween tradition. The feast of Epiphany is a piece of Nicaragua culture that is based on a legend. In the legend, an elderly woman refused to travel with the three wise men to bring gifts to baby Jesus. It is said that she now travels the world in search of him. Local children also flock to the altar of the Virgin Mary, bringing flower bouquets as a form of worship.

A Nicaraguan Christmas is filled with traditional activities and is a time of great celebration for its residents. Americans visiting for the holiday will find a different world of Nicaragua culture then what they are used to in the United States.

History of Nicaragua

The history of Nicaragua is one that dates back to the year 500. As the largest nation in Central America, it is roughly the size of New York state, and it is home to nearly six million people. Of that six million, nearly all of them, roughly 98%, are under the age of 65 and 50% live in poverty. Although it is now a popular tourist destination known for a beautiful tropic climate and cheap hotel rates, the history of Nicaragua is rife with war, poverty and famine.

• Around the year 500, the first settlers came to Nicaragua. Archaeological evidence in the history of Nicaragua points to the earliest residents being Paleo-Indians. By the 1500s, Nicaragua was inhabited mostly by people of Indian and Mexican origin. The Mexicans and Indians survived by using the land for farming. The country was not known as Nicaragua until 1522, when Spanish explorer Gil Gonzalez Divila named the nation for a Indian king whose name translated to Nicarao. Nicaragua history shows that Davila, like Columbus, did not mean to set foot in the area he did. Leaks in the ships he was leading in exploration forced them to stop along the coast of Panama. After exploring the area, Davila became impressed and dispatched his men to baptize the Indians. Eventually, they were met with resistance.

• Although the history of Nicaragua did not start in 1500s, not much is known about the time period before that. In 1524, it is a Nicaragua history fact that Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba, sailing for Spain, finished conquering the country of Nicaragua, officially making it one of Spain’s territories. Because of this, it is de Cordoba who is considered to be the official founder of Nicaragua. His men departed from Nicaragua with pounds of the gold that they found in the region.

• Nicaragua history shows that for about 300 years, Nicaragua remained a territory of Spain. However, in 1821, Nicaragua declared independence from Spain and joined the Mexican Empire. Soon after, 1823, Nicaragua became part of United Provinces of Central America. It was not until 1838 that the history of Nicaragua shows that independence from other countries and empires was finally achieved. As a country that had long suffered through war and outside control, a Nicaraguan general named Jose Santos Zelaya took control of the country. Soon after, according to Nicaragua history, his reign did not last long, as the United State military troops overthrew him in 1909.

• In 1937, General Anastasio Somoza Garcia became President of Nicaragua. The history of Nicaragua shows that he and his family maintained control of Nicaragua for the next 40 years. During his time as president, an earthquake hit Nicaragua’s capital of Managua, killing 5,000 to 10,000 people. Soon after in 1979, the President of Nicaragua, a Garcia family member named Anastasio Somoza Debayle fled the country when the rebel group called the Sadinistas took over the country.

• Nicaragua history shows that it was around this time that the United States stopped all aid to Nicaragua and began supporting a group of fighters known as the Contra. This fighting continued until the late 1980s. In that time period, the history of Nicaragua was rife with fights and a Sadinista member named Daniel Ortega was elected as president. The Sadinistas ruled Nicaragua for six years and during their reign, almost 200,000 residents were left homeless due to Hurricane Joan. This disturbing piece of the history of Nicaragua was followed by the death of thousands due to Hurricane Mitch in 1998. Ortega took back control of the land in 2007.

Although Nicaragua history is filled with war, the area is becoming safer as time progresses. Currently, it is becoming a popular tourist destination despite its poverty.

Food of the People

Like most countries, Nicaragua is a country with a rich history. Nicaraguan culture consists of festivals, celebrations, and of course, food. Traditional foods of Nicaraguan cultures play a large part in the lives of the residents as well as the tourists, who visit Nicaragua for the tropical beauty and inexpensive vacation options.

• Nicaraguan culture relies on the origin of the country’s residents. A mixture of mostly Indians and Mexicans, both have traditional cooking styles that are clearly reflected in the cooking style of the Nicaraguan people. Spanish food is a staple of Nicaraguan culture. Some holidays like Christmas includes certain types of food in the Nicaraguan culture. In Nicaraguan culture, the midnight mass that is celebrated on Christmas Eve is always followed by a large, home cooked traditional Nicaraguan meal. This meal consists of chicken tamales, a salad made of jicama and oranges, and desserts. Some old fashioned Nicaraguan cultures followed by residents include killing and cooking their own chickens and growing their own rice.

• While many larger tourists cities such as Nicaraguan capital Managua have gone the way of chain restaurant to please tourists, smaller towns still opt for the traditional Nicaraguan cultures of particular foods. Some foods are particularly popular. One of these foods are a traditional soup of the Nicaraguan culture that is known as Mondongo. The soup is made with a mixture of meat, potatoes, onions, sweet peppers and corn, among other vegetables. It is served and eaten with sides of cheese and avocados.

• A very common meal that is a part of Nicaraguan culture is called gallo pinto. This meal is not made for any particular special occasion as it is an everyday dish made of fried rice, onions, red Spanish beans and sweet peppers mixed with garlic, mixed and cooked with coconut oil. This traditional backbone of the food of Nicaraguan culture may be served with a dessert known as cajeta de coco. It is made of coconut and yucca strings that are sweetened in syrup concocted of milk candy and syrup.

• Another traditional dish of the Nicaraguan culture is called vigoron. In this meal, a large plantain tree leaf is covered with a mixture Nicaraguan vegetables such as yacca, chicharron and a cabbage and tomato salad. This dish can be served either baked or cold according to preference.

Whether made for special occasions like Christmas or just a regular dinner, Nicaraguan cultures consists of Spanish based meals that combine strong flavored spices, meats and vegetables.