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Noche Buena

By immigrationprof

The New York Times newsletter on race/related profiles the Filipino and Latin American cultural traditions of Noche Buena on Christmas Eve.

Imported into American immigrant cultures after Catholic missionary influences abroad, the family celebrations are marked by late dinner gatherings on Christmas eve that spill over into Christmas day.  Sometimes the meal begins around 10 pm and breaks for midnight mass. Other times it begins at midnight. Food is scaled for large extended families and traditionally consists of lechon (suckling pig) and heaps of tamales.  Gifts are exchanged. Other festivities include music, dancing, and party games.

Staff writer Isabella Grullon Paz writes about her Filipino family gatherings which feature pernil, lechon or vegetarian pastelón. She recounts that the traditions of Noche Buena, Christmas Eve, trace back to Spanish colonization and Catholic missionaries in the Philippines and Latin America into the 17th century.  Notwithstanding declines in reliigiousity in both places, Catholicism remains a dominant influence in both places. Roughly 80 percent of Filipinos are Catholic, according to a 2015 study from the Pew Research Center. 

 
The real fun of her column is in the interviews with Columbia chefs and profiles of traditional foods. Read the whole column here.
 
Lechon
 
 

MHC