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As I grew up in the Dominican Republic, I read many magical Christmas stories involving snow, rain, coats, boots, gloves and a happy old man named Santa Claus who always used to go down hundreds of chimneys with presents for thousands of little ones who had been good. It always seemed quiet odd to celebrate Christmas in a tropical climate… I can’t imagine how different this may seem for those of you who visit the Dominican Republic!
But now that you are planning to celebrate Christmas in the tropical location of Casa de Campo, the Christmas celebrations in the Dominican Republic must be a completely new and fun experience for you! It is quite easy to get into the Dominican festive spirit as there are a series of marvelous and fun traditions celebrated at Christmastime… some of which you might have already seen in La Romana and Casa de Campo:
1. “Cima Sabor Navideño”
The Dominican radio station “Cima”, located in Santo Domingo, is the most popular radio station in the Dominican Republic during Christmas time, as it brings the Christmas Spirit alive in many Dominican homes with the “Cima Sabor Navideño” program, which plays endless classic Christmas merengue songs recorded in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.
You can tune into “Cima” on 100.5fm.
2. The “Charamicos”
Along with the “cold” wind, which starts in early November another sign of Christmas in the Dominican Republic is the appearance of hundreds of wooden hand-crafted Christmas trees, stars, reindeers and other animals displayed in the streets. According to their history, artisans started making these white “charamico” trees, as a way of having our own trees covered in “snow” (since it will never snow in the tropics).
3. “Angelitos”
Christmas is a time to give and therefore it is aso a Dominican tradition to exchange “Angelitos” between friends, co-workers and family – a tradition we know as “Secret Santa.” And by the way…..these “Angelitos” are everything but secret!
4. “Flores de Pascua”
“Flores de Pascuas” (Christmas Flowers) are given away to friends and members of the family as a special gift during the Christmas Holidays. This is tradition is most typical held between high and/or medium class members of society.
5. The arrival of hundreds of “Dominican-Yorks”
As many dominicans live in New York and other parts of the States, it is not surprising to find an impressive amount of “dominican-yorks” between December the 20th and 24th, arriving at the Santo Domingo airport (loaded with presents) to spend the Holidays with their Dominican families.
6. Christmas Parades
Although it is not celebrated as much as in the past, you wouldn’t be surprised to find a group of people sharing rum, ginger tea, hot chocolate and cookies as they sing and dance to Dominican traditional christmas carols and taking part in parades, accompanied with drums and güiras in the streets of La Romana.
On Saturday December 17th, a similar event took place in Casa de Campo; the 1st Annual Christmas Golf Cart Parade – photos of the parade coming soon!
7. Packed Beauty Parlors
Just in case you decide to go to a Beauty Salon and get ready for the special occasions on Christmas Eve and New Years….. be sure to book in advance or be patient!!! It is quite an unpleasant tradition to find packed beauty salons on both of these dates (every single year). My suggestion is to forget about your hair and join us on December 31st for the Palmillaso 2011 event! – click here for details!
8. Christmas Eve Dinner
One of the main and most special Christmas traditions in the Dominican Republic is the Christmas Eve Dinner, celebrated with homemade Dominican food. Although some ingredients tend to vary within different regions, here we bring you a list of those which can’t be missed on Christmas Eve:
Empanadas filled with chicken or beef- “Pasteles en hoja“
- “Russian Salad”: contains potatoes, carrots, tayota, petit pois, onion, vinagar and mayonnaise.
- “La Telera“: a type of bread which is mostly eaten at Christmas
- Roasted Pork
- Grapes, apple, and Christmas sweets!
If you plan to celebrate Christmas at your Casa de Campo villa, you may want to try the special “Suckling pig stuffed with Mofongo” – click here for more info!
If you wish to go out instead, the Casa de Campo restaurants have special Christmas menus available for all Casa de Campo villa owners, residents and visitors – click here for more info!
This is how we celebrate Christmas in the Carribbean! Así se celebra la Navidad en la República Dominicana! Únase a la gran celebración al puro estilo del Caribe!