How Holiday Traditions Became ­Lifelong ­Passions

This time of year evokes so many memories for me. It prompts me to relive times that I most cherish in my life. I think we all agree that no matter where you are from or what language you speak, the holiday season is full of family, food, laughter and giving on many levels and in many ways.

Growing up, I had the pleasure of celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas in different places—Puerto Rico with palm trees, grandparents, aunts uncles and cousins; in snowy Southeastern Wisconsin with our acquired circle of friends consisting of other Puerto Rican, Mexican, Venezuelan, Cuban, Costa Rican, German, Polish, and Italian families who had found their way to the cold winters of the midwest. I even recall a holiday or two in Miami, Florida, with my parent’s Cuban compadres.

Looking back, the most wonderful thing about every holiday season was how strongly my parents and every other family (not only Latinos) kept cultural traditions alive. They were all willing and wanting to share by intermingling music, food and traditions. You can imagine a Christmas in Waukesha, Wisc., with all these nationalities (I’m sure I missed a few) explaining and sharing through thick accents and limited English. I was often a translator and ALWAYS in the middle of all the food, music and holiday decor!

It is only now (as I write this article) that I fully recognize how the things I call my deepest passions today—creating with my hands, food and music—were introduced, sparked and explored by the experiences my parents and all our extended families exposed me to.

FOOD: As far back as I can remember, I was always part of the kitchen process—grinding, cutting, stirring, cleaning. The older I got, the more intricate my tasks became. To this day, I am still one of the best at folding and string-tying Pastels in our yearly tradition of making one of Puerto Rico’s most cherished and sought after dishes. To this day, I look forward every year to the hours and days spent with my Mom making Pasteles, Arroz con Dulce, Tembleque, Dulce de Coco, Flan (see my recipe below), Surrullitos, Asopao de Pollo, and on and on. There is always a backdrop of music that is full of the traditional rhythms and words of everything from American Christmas Carols to Puerto Rican Aguinaldos sung traditionally at Parrandas.

MUSIC: We often gauged our Christmas by how good the music was; how much we danced, how much we sang, how many Parrandas were done. Parrandas are a lively Puerto Rican version of Christmas Caroling—with a few different rules: 1.) Parrandas are done only between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m. 2.) You don’t warn the family you are going to invade. But…no worries because of rule number 3.) Puerto Rican families are always hoping they’d be honored with the Parranda party. So they always have snacks and beverages set aside and are ready to host—just in case. 4.) Food and alcohol play an important part in the festivities—responsibly of course.

My uncle Peter (my mother’s youngest brother and my favorite uncle) was always at the center of the celebration; singing, playing the guitar and moving the evening along with jokes. I was ALWAYS at his side, playing the maracas, rhythm sticks, even the guiro and keeping good rhythm. By the time I was seven, I knew I wanted to play the guitar. I asked him to teach me, and my Uncle Peter took the task very seriously. I obsessed over my lessons, and by the next Christmas, I was playing the guitar right alongside him. The year after that, I started playing violin and the traditional Puerto Rican lead stringed instrument similar to the guitar, the cuatro. The next obvious step for me was singing. Thus, throughout the holiday seasons, music became a permanent and important part of my life. Thank you to my uncle for taking me seriously, and thank you to my parents for buying, without hesitation, every instrument I wanted.

CREATING WITH MY HANDS: For as far back as I can remember, my mother was always putting a crayon, paintbrush or pencil in my hand. There were always paints, papers, scissors, buckets of ribbon, and buttons in my home. We were encouraged and accompanied with our creative explorations. My mom was always making something: crochet, ceramics, cake decorating…and my brother and I always got to play with whatever she was doing or making. My ALL TIME favorite project, to this day, is probably one of the most intricate crafting projects I’ve ever tackled. It was given to me by my mom when I was about 10.

I distinctly remember one day in the Fall, I was sitting at one end of our dining room table when my mom came in with a rather large box. It was two-feet long by one-foot wide and about four-inches deep. The outside had colorful images of the characters sung about in “The 12 Days of Christmas.” You know, “Seven-Swans-A-Swimming, Six-Geese-A-Laying, Fiiiiivve-Gold-Rings!”

The image of the contents inside the box is still fresh and clear to me as the day I opened it. It is permanently imprinted on my brain. My eyes were first drawn to the colorful little plastic tubs of paint attached by a rubber band to three different artists brushes. One handle was red, one was royal blue and the other was black. I then focused on what was in the bottom of the box—1/8″-thin sheets of what appeared to be wood with black printed lines, like the outlines in a coloring book. The images printed in black lines were all the same characters pictured on the front of the box. The only difference was that these weren’t painted.

Now I know my mom’s ulterior motive at the time; “Keep her busy for a LONG time.” It worked, but it also did so much more!

For the next two months, the end of our dining table became my little paint department. As long as I put it all away in-between paint sessions, I could paint there as much as I liked. I don’t know how many hours I spent painstakingly painting with the acrylic paint-kit provided. A little glass food jar with water, a couple of paper napkins and I was gone. I painted my way from the “Partridge in a Pear Tree” clear through to the “12-Drummers-Drumming” and all the 10 days of Christmas in between. I spent weekends and hours after school painting those little wood ornaments. I set a personal goal to get them done by Christmas and have them all hanging on our Christmas tree. I was focused and diligent for weeks on end—developing a steady hand with a paintbrush while staying crisply inside the lines. Rushing certainly didn’t fit into the equation of doing this project.

The last week before the big holiday and after all the time spent bringing colorful life to those two silly turtle doves, I wasn’t sure I was going to make it by Xmas. The pressure was on and every minute counted. The Saturday (three days) before Christmas, my family and I got home late from some Christmas party. I quickly got into my PJs and headed straight for the dining room. I went about setting up my paint area at the end of the table. I wasn’t sure how painting at 1 a.m. was going to go over with my parents. My father was already in bed, and my mom walked past me on her way to their bedroom. When she saw me setting up, she said, “Pero, muchacha que tu haces? / But girl, what are you doing?” I thought for sure I was going to get the axe on the set up. I told her, “I want to get these done by Christmas. I haven’t worked this hard for this long in order to not finish them in time.” She looked at me through sleepy eyes. “Tu estas locas / You are crazy,” and to my surprise, “No te quedes muy tarde / Don’t stay up too late.” She kept walking past me to her bedroom. Yes!! I was happy, excited and grateful. I had a cool mom! However, I am not sure my mom knows that I stayed up ’til about 5 that morning. I do know, I had a great time painting into the wee hours of the morning. AND I got all 12 days painted and hung in time Christmas Eve dinner.
Throughout the two months I spent painting those “12 Days of Christmas” wooden ornaments, I learned patience, I learned perseverance, and I learned how amazing it feels to see something through to completion. I’ve got to thank my mom for letting me explore what it’s like to go the extra mile to get it done AND enjoy it! It was simply another way that I learned about the concept “You Can Do It!”

I encourage you to explore the holidays and wintertime through lots of food, great music, creativity, patience and perseverance. It serves us in and out of the holiday season. And yes, “You Can Do It, too!”

Click here to download a PDF of Carmen De La Paz's Recipe Card for her Sofrito and Arroz con Gandules!

Click here to download a PDF of Carmen De La Paz's Recipe Card for her Flan!