Christmas is a marathon in Puerto Rico. No sooner are the flowers wilting and the votive candles burning-out in cemeteries all over the island after All Soul's Day, that the happy flicker of twinkle-lights begin to adorn every imaginable surface. Three cashiers in our local grocery store are already donning Santa caps and live trees are stealing valuable parking lot space in every strip center from Aquadilla to Humacao and Cabo Rojo to San Juan. Travis likes to say we have four seasons here and he's not far off. Easter: which runs from Palm Sunday to Memorial Day. Summer: which runs from Memorial Day to Christmas. Christmas: which runs from Early November until lent. And Lent which runs from Christmas until Easter.
Thanksgiving is really the start of it though. Although no one has ever confirmed this for me, I think its proximity to advent made it an easy target. From Thanksgiving until three King's Day in January, its pretty much one long party with rest stops along the way.
Although I have always tried to embrace the culture where I live I just can't seem to bring myself to put up a tree in early November. I openly wonder how the live trees I see sitting in the parking lot can survive 80 degree days in un-air conditioned houses, but then I suppose we're lucky. Since most houses are poured concrete. there is not much to burn.
Puerto Rico boasts the longest Christmas season of anywhere in the world. And although it is only November 16th and I have heard Puertorican Christmas music playing in All Ways 99 since September, been brushing glitter off the toilet paper, napkin and cleaning supply purchases from the same since late September and can already hear the jingle of Salvation Army volunteers on the sidewalk of every strip mall, it is still a magical time of the year. Its a shame though that the magic generally wears off somewhere around December 15th.
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