Christmas traditions in Costa Rica have plenty of the Latin American flavor, but they are uniquely done the Tico way

Snow ... Snow ... Snow ... Marvelous Snow! We Northerners might think Yuck especially after a long winter, but Costa Ricans (Ticos) are fascinated by snow. They rarely, if ever, see the real thing because they are so close to the equator. The floats in the Festival de la Luz, which are decorated in fluffy white, draw much attention because of the oddity of snow.

There are a variety of reasons that December is a very special month in Costa Rica. The children begin their long summer vacation from school. The rainy season has ended. All working adults receive their aguinaldo from their employer. And a highlight is that it is Christmas (Navidad) complete with so many festivals, parades, and Costa Rican Christmas traditions.

Costa Ricans love to celebrate and many take vacations at this time of year. They have three main parades after the beginning of the Christmas season.

El Carnaval-- Dancers and musical groups from around the country compete for the best of show in costumes, dancing talent, and music,

El Tope-- A Parade of showy horses, the San Jose Tope is the most famous. It is a grand parade that also includes floats, clowns, and marching bands.

El Festival de la Luz-- A night time parade made beautiful with thousands of Christmas lights. This parade is a favorite.

Christmas traditions in Costa Rica began when Christmas initiallied celebrated in 1601. The governor, Don Vasquez de Coronado organized the festivities and declared it a national holiday.

Like Mexico, the Ticos celebrate with Posadas the nine days before Christmas. The Costa Rican Christmas is centered upon the Christ child, and therefore, both the Posada and La Portal (the manger) take a very important position in their celebration. The family portal often occupies the majority of the living room. The children collect plants, mosses, grasses, twigs, and sawdust to decorate it. Portals are completed with crafted wood, statues of Mary, Joseph, The Three Kings, and the shepherds and their sheep. On Noche Buena (Christmas Eve), The Christ child is placed in the manger just before the family attends the Christmas Midnight Mass

. A few days before Christmas, the Christmas tree is placed in the home. It is decorated in a homemade fashion with small figurines, lace ornaments and brightly colored strips of paper. The gold star of Bethlehem crowns the tree. On Christmas morning, those children are asked, "What did the Baby Jesus bring you?"

The Christmas Eve dinner is a late night affair, and no surprise with all the preparation that goes into it. The special Costa Rican tamales that are served take many hours to prepare. Tamales are made with corn meal, rice, vegetables and pork or chicken, wrapped with banana leaf.

The most anticipated activity of the Christmas season is the Toros a laTica bullfight. Dozens of young men will hop into the arena and attempt to frighten the bull into charging. The bulls are never harmed but occasionally a young man will be gored.

Maybe you want to add a bit of the Tico spirit to your holiday season. Here is a recipe for a Tamales, a traditional dish.

Costa Rican Tamales Recipe

2 lbs instant cornmeal (masa).

3 lbs (1.4 kg) pork shoulder roast -or- beef roast -or-.

boneless chicken.

1/4 lb (110 gr) pork lard (or vegetable shortening).

1 cup (240 ml) corn oil.

1 batch (~ 5 cups cooked) Tico style rice.

2 1/4 lbs (1 kg) potatoes.

8 cloves of garlic.

1/2 lb (225 gr) sweet or hot peppers to taste.

1 large onion (optional).

2 1/4 lbs (1 kg) banana leaves.

Season with coriander leaves (cilantro), salt, black pepper, cumin, oregano, achiote (annato).

If you are adventurous and demand complete authenticity, you must start from raw corn ground for tamales (3 lbs, 1.4 kg Maíz cascado, molido crudo). Soak the flour in water then rinse it well, cook with a tablespoon of achiote, and a little of the garlic and peppers in salted water to just cover until tender and then let stand overnight. The next day, knead it into dough. You should probably have a demonstration first if you're going to try this method. For first timers we 'd suggest the Masa version described below.

Chop the meat into large (2", 5 cm) chunks then brown on high heat in the 1/2 cup lard or vegetable oil. Add the chopped garlic, peppers, onion, 1 teaspoon salt, 1teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and 1 teaspoon salt for the last minute or two of browning, then cover with water and simmer until very tender (2-3 hours). Remove the meat from the broth and reserve the broth. When the meat is cool shred it finely. While the meat is simmering prepare the potatoes and rice.

Peel the potatoes and boil with salt, cilantro, and oregano to taste until soft. Cool and cut into 1/2 inch (1 cm) cubes.

To prepare the masa, allow the meat broth to cool until it is just warm. To the dry masa add 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, and 1 teaspoon ground achiote, and mix dry. Then add the vegetable oil, mix with your hands while adding the warm broth. It should take about 2 1/2 cups to make a paste the consistency of mashed potatoes. Mix and add slowly, and if you the broth gets too thin, add a little more masa.

Wrap the Tamales & Steam.

Wash the banana leaves then cut them into ~ 15 inch (38 cm) squares. Spread 2 tablespoons of masa paste in the center, add 1 tablespoon each of potatoes, rice and meat. Fold as shown and tie with cotton string. Cook the tamales in gently boiling water for about one hour.

Provecho!

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________