Dec 27, 2022 2 min read

Christmas in Colombia

The vibrance of Christmas here is big. Like really big. Like a new year’s party with friends combined with a large family/community independence day celebration.

Medellín is known for their impressive light display every December. This year the theme was Disney's Encanto. Here Brian and I are amidst the riverfront festival crowd.

When we first moved across the country, 2-3 plane flights away from most of our family, Brian and I had to create new traditions for holidays. For Christmas we now make chicken & dumplings and watch cheesy Christmas movies all day, ideally in a cabin in the woods with snow. But this year, we’re in Colombia and Latin America does a whole different thing that is worth experiencing.

I still think fondly of our Christmas in Nicaragua - food and fun with my host family and an impressive collaborative display of fireworks throughout the valley of Matagalpa at midnight.

So, when we got an invite to spend Christmas eve (the main event) with a new friend and his family, we said yes. I’m astounded at how kind and welcoming people can be. They welcomed us in like we were their long-lost cousins who happened to grow up in the states (and they have plenty of those for real as well). They gave us matching shirts that said “Navidad en familia” and included us in the midnight gift exchange. We helped in the kitchen, ate, drank, sang, danced, walked the neighborhood looking at lights, and stayed the night. We finally went to bed at 3:30am. A few houses down, the party kept going through the rest of the morning!

We didn’t have the energy Christmas day to accept the family’s lunch invitation (speaking in Spanish adds a layer of effort that is tough when already tired), plus I think we were craving our own Christmas tradition, so we headed home. As we walked to the metro around noon, we saw people cooking and dancing in the street. Shifting perspectives for a moment, I can imagine that, for someone from Medellín, spending Christmas in my hometown of St. Louis might seem a bit…lifeless? Disappointing? The vibrance of Christmas here is big. Like really big. Like a new year’s party with friends combined with a large family/community independence day celebration.

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Silence might mean no. People here seem less likely than in the US mainstream culture to make direct requests and to say "no" to a direct request. I messaged someone in the family asking permission to share photos publicly and didn't hear back. They may have simply missed the message or meant to reply later. However, just in case the silence means no, I decided to not ask again and opt for photos I felt comfortable sharing.

There are many threads to pull here – like how it feels to be “in family” but without the history of trauma and triumph that every family holds. Or I could go beyond the charming newness to note tensions or downsides (like what pets think of all the fireworks). But what is alive for me is the hospitality and kindness shown to us by people we had never met. I'm grateful.

Night view of lights hanging from porch rail and the hill across the valley dotted with lights. — We got in the spirit and put up Christmas lights on our porch.

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Have you ever invited an international student or someone new to town to join in a holiday celebration? A local university or refugee resettlement organization might have a way to connect you to someone who'd like to join you for the holiday, such as the Friendship Foundation for International Students in Eugene, Oregon.

Written Dec 27, 2022; posted Feb 8, 2023