Chile has been for many years, since the arrival of the Spaniards, a country predominantly Catholic, so Christmas in Chile is celebrated by the majority of people in the Catholic families.

Since I was a kid I remember Christmas was the most expected day of the year, after my birthdays, Christmas was also the announcement of the holidays and summer.

Yes, because in Chile is in the Southern Hemisphere and the year-end holidays are at the beginning of the summer there, so Christmas in Chile tend to be very hot. At Christmas, the children have already left for summer holidays and celebrations are held at high ambient temperatures. So if you hang chocolates on the Christmas Tree there are most likely to end half melted in few days, we still do it tho.

If you are planning your trip to Chile:

• Best Places to Visit in Santiago
• What to see in Valparaíso and a photography route
• Reasons to fall in love with Chile too!
• Great Trekkings to do near Santiago

Formerly Chilean families celebrated Christmas in a social way, sharing food and gifts on the streets of downtown Santiago, then they attended midnight mass that takes place at 12 pm to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

This tradition continues to this day and many families attend Catholic Mass that night called ‘Misa del Gallo’.

The big difference is that in addition, once the Christmas celebrations continued all night and celebration stands were installed (such as we see today on September 18, the ‘Fondas’) where people would dance until the morning, they ended up eating at the Central Market for recovering after partying all night.

 

Don’t be surprised if you hear a different term for this celebration while you are in Chile.

In Chile, as in Cuba and the Philippines, it’s common colloquially referred to the Christmas season: ‘Pascua’, like Easter. It is common to hear terms like ‘Buenas Pascuas’ or ‘Pascua Feliz para todos”

English has been more practical in referring some terms, but in Spanish, we love ambiguous and double meaning words. Same in the Christian cultural environment, it is called “Pascua” to any feast and there are two ‘Pascua’ celebrated around the world: La Pascua de Navidad and Resurrection ‘Pascua’ or Easter, which is celebrated in the month of March. Thus, in some countries, it is also called Christmas with the same term in Spanish referred to Easter.

Are you planning on visiting Chile for Christmas? Check out the best Hotels

Booking.com

How do we celebrate Christmas in Chile?

Today in almost every Chilean house it is served a special dinner for ‘Noche Buena’ with the intent to celebrate and reunite the family or friends.

Chile is perhaps one of the South American countries more influenced by foreigner culture (‘Merican), especially in Santiago you can see some streets with Christmas decorations and decorated homes.

Most of the traditions come from the US and there are a few that have been missed with the years, as the Adventus time that is usually very important in Christmas celebrations in Germany.

 

Traditionally, most houses decorate a Christmas tree or ‘Arbol de Pascua’ adorned with lights, garlands and other decorations and the nativity scene with figures depicting the birth of Jesus.

There are some people who go even further and decorate the whole house even on the exterior of the house with decorative lights and toys.

Notice that we don’t have Saint Nicholas or Papa Noel, we have the CocaCola model of Santa Claus.

In my home will always be more or less followed the same routine, after dinner, a few minutes before 12 o’clock at night we went out to the street to watch Santa Claus’s reindeer and then to find gifts left by the ‘Viejito Pascuero’ under the Christmas tree.

There are some homes waiting until morning to open presents, but in my family, we are all very impatient to wait until the next day.

What usually Dinner includes for Christmas in Chile is the following:

• Roasted  turkey or chicken
• Easter bread or ‘Pan de Pascua’
• Cola de Mono
• Punch cherimoya or ‘Ponche de Chirimoya’
• Christmas cookies
• Watermelon and other seasonal fruit as dessert

One of the few traditional Chilean drinks is the ‘Cola de Mono’ (literally Monkey’s tail) served especially at Christmas time. It is a delicious alcoholic beverage based on milk and coffee.

Served cold accompanied by Easter bread in the evenings of the holiday season.

Learn How to prepare this delicious drink HERE 

El Viejito Pascuero, very important character of Christmas in Chile

In addition to the Christmas Eve dinner, this is the night that the kids (and most adults too) gather to await the arrival of Viejito Pascuero, who brings gifts on his sleigh with reindeer on Christmas night. Because in Chile we are very original, then to Santa Claus we call ‘Viejo Pascuero‘.

Although we are not the original ones as to who brings gifts on Christmas in Spain have Caga Tio o Tío de Nadal, the Olentzero, the  Caganer or the Magi bearing gifts to children; Bafana in Italy and in Colombia is the child Jesus.

The name and origins of Viejito Pascuero and why Christmas is called Pascua is not entirely clear.

It is said that the image of Viejito Pascuero came to Chile by a German merchant, the Bazar German Krauss, who later became the first toy of Chile owner. In, this place it was the first time someone masquerading as Santa Claus at the entrance of the store to announce the arrival of the holiday season.

The detail is that at the time nobody knew the existence of this character, rather than European immigrants of the time, and the public began to call this old man affectionately: ‘Viejito Pascuero’.

There is even a song that children sing in Christmas time in Chile to await the arrival of Viejito Pascuero:

‘Santa Claus remember me, I behave well at home and in the kindergarden’ or in Spanish: ‘Viejito Pascuero acuérdate de mí, me porto bien en casa y también en el jardín’.

 

 

 

(Updated December 2018)

And that’s how we celebrate Christmas in Chile and would love to know how you celebrate this holiday in your country

Is it very different Christmas celebration in the place where you live?

 

Check more about Christmas Markets in Germany or in
STRASBOURG, FRANCE

> If you want to know more about food at the Christmas Markets in Germany Click Here