Noche Buena 2008

"Noche buena" means "good night," but in the Southwest, it means Christmas Eve. Back East, the really big holiday was Christmas Day, but here in Albuquerque it is most definitely Christmas Eve. Holiday traditions here in New Mexico are colorful, rich with history and memorable. Instead of keeping warm at home on Christmas Eve with family and friends, leaving the house briefly only to attend services, people in the Land of Enchantment hit the streets for the biggest festival of the year. Old Town Albuquerque is adorned with thousands of luminaria. In Santa Fe they're called farolitos. Either way, the brown papers bags holding sand and lit votive candles are beautiful. They line streets, sidewalks and rooftops, as well as ledges and walls. They are everywhere! My favorite part of Noche Buena, however, is the pungent, unmistakably sweet aroma of piñon smoke rising from kiva fireplaces throughout Old Town.



This was our third Noche Buena in Albuquerque. Our 2006 Old Town stroll was numbingly cold. Christmas Eve 2007 was not only cold, but windy. This year, however, we enjoyed perfect strolling weather, with temps above freezing, very little wind, and a reasonably clear night. After some spicy hor d'ouvres, tamales and cider, we took to the streets of Old Town where we explored streets, alleys, nooks and crannies. Later, we drove past a park a few blocks away where seven hot air balloons were tethered for a "balloon glow." I didn't have my camera, and this is not my photo, but here's what a hot air balloon glow looks like.


A traditional New Mexican Christmas Eve dinner for four followed the outdoor celebrations. We served posole - a hominy and pork stew with green chiles - very hot and spicy...


and Ensalada Noche Buena - Christmas Eve salad (and yes, those are pomegranate seeds, along with beets, jicama, baby greens, queso fresca, golden raisins, oranges and pine nuts).


After this hearty meal, all of us were too full for dessert, but did manage to munch on a few bizcochitos while watching the classic 1951 B&W film Scrooge, starring Alistair Sim, released in 1951 as A Christmas Carol. I grew up with this movie and am happy to report that it lived up to expectations some 50 years later.


At 12:30 we called it a night. My brother and his wife left for their home across town, the dogs tucked themselves in for the night and, anticipating Santa's arrival, I fell into a deep sleep.

This 'n That

This morning, deep in the bowels of winter, the temperature is barely 20. Frost adorns windshields, snow glistens on the Sandias, and thick, menacing clouds hover at the summit. On this quiet, windless morning I hold a glimmer of hope that the day will warm to the low 30's. It will be our coldest day this season.

Christmas has come and gone, but we are still enjoying our small, festive tree, decorated with Southwest trinkets that accompany our more traditional ornaments collected over the years. Some of our glass ornaments dating back to World War II decorated holiday trees from my childhood. This year we discovered red and green chile pepper covers for our white lights in the Basket Store in Old Town. They are really quite beautiful!









It's been forever since I've written anything for this blog, in part because I've been very busy. More accurately, though, I've been remarkably uninspired these past few months. With so much on my emotional plate, there's been little time for reflection and writing. Now that life seems to be winding down and easing a bit, thoughts and feelings are beginning to spill into daily life. Work has served me well in distancing from the disappointments that were constant companions for many months. Still grieving a major loss, these smaller losses have seemed much bigger, collectively. And, as we all know, the holidays are amazing vehicles for emotional exaggeration.

I'm not a fan of New Year's resolutions, but I do think it's time to get back to writing. Buddha agrees. Stay tuned.

Boxing Day

TUESDAY. Boxing Day is a public holiday celebrated in the U.K. on December 26th. The origins of this holiday are debatable. Some believe it was once the day when employers would present a Christmas "box," or gift, to workers. Others think it dates back to feudal times, when estate lords would present boxes of goods to families of serfs. Still another interpretation suggests the practice of opening a church's donation box and distributing the money to the poor the day after Christmas. A more novel explanation is that on Boxing Day the king of birds (the wren) was captured, put in a box, and introduced to villagers who would ask him for a bountiful harvest and prosperous year. Another plausible and creative idea proposes that since servants generally worked on Christmas Day, leftovers from Christmas Dinner were boxed up and given to the hard-working servants and their families the day after Christmas.

Personally, I believe it's the day you box up all your unwanted Christmas gifts and return them to Macy's or Home Depot. Though my favorite online urban legend resource, snopes.com, disputes this theory, I find it convenient and comfortable. While regifting is always a viable alternative to waiting on line to return a gift, there's something to be said for getting a store credit and purchasing something you really want or need.

Our Christmas celebration involved much preparation, meal planning, shopping, decorating, and housecleaning. Now that it's over, I can return to casual housekeeping for another year. Actually the day turned out to be very enjoyable, despite a rocky start. It was one of those mornings when everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. For starters, we plugged in our freshly-decorated Christmas tree and watched the twinkle lights in the top third of the tree fail to twinkle. After spending half an hour, to no avail, trying to find the bad bulb and replacing the fuses, we reworked the top of the tree with a new string of lights--no small feat with fragile antique glass ornaments already in place. Shortly after the tree fiasco, I burned the almonds that were toasting in the oven. So much for buttered green beans with almonds for dinner. The broiler wouldn't work properly and I had a difficult time making my special Christmas breakfast omelette. At some point mid-morning I realized the clothes I planned to wear required laundering, and emergency Christmas Day laundry was definitely not on the agenda. And the parade of disasters continued, right down to burning the squash and undercooking the roast.

But somehow, in the final moments before dinner, it all came together. Warm flames danced in the fireplace, the smell of pinion filled the house, the roast was perfect after a few additional minutes in the oven, and we managed to salvage enough toasted almonds for the green beans. We shared a delightful meal and wonderful conversation with dear friends and the rest of the day was a joy.

I hope you all had a good holiday. Inclusivity seemed important this year, so we celebrated several December holidays--Solstice, Hanukkah and Christmas. It matters not which tradition you observe. The important thing is that you, like Murphy, celebrate peace, harmony, and good cheer with loved ones, in the spirit of charity and hope, making sure to take plenty of naps when no one's looking.

Merry Christmas From Old Town Albuquerque

SUNDAY. We made our pilgrimage to Old Town this evening, a Christmas Eve tradition for many Albuquerqueans, but for us a new experience. A sliver of silver moon hung low in cloudless skies, the sweet aroma of burning piñón palpable in the cold night air. My several layers of Polartec fleece served me well.

The Plaza was bursting with humanity, walking in groups and alone, singing, eating taquitos, sipping hot chocolate and laughing. Some folks brought dogs decorated for the holiday. A few, like us, stood silently in awe. Hundreds of luminarias lined the walkways and streets of Old Town. People streamed into the warmth of San Felipe de Neri through open, welcoming doors.


(Fortunately I figured out how to shoot at night. Next time I'll bring my tripod.)


People spontaneously gathered in the Plaza gazebo to sing Christmas carols. A group of carolers looking positively Dickensian in their period attire strolled through the streets. It was all so surreal, I wondered if I'd wandered onto a movie set.





Afterwards we drove through a cemetery a few miles away to see the luminarias that had been placed around gravesites. It was magical and serene.

Happy Christmas!

My Holiday Video

Last year I created a short video slideshow I'd like to share with you during this current holiday season. If you're using a Mac (that's you, Judy), follow the instructions below for Mac users. Sorry if it seems complicated. It isn't.

Windows Users
If you've never seen my streaming slideshows, you'll need to download a free browser plug-in to watch the show. (It's perfectly safe - no spyware or viruses. I've been using it for years.) Save it to your desktop and double-click to install. Once the plug-in is installed, click here to watch the show.

If you already have the plug-in, you're all set. Occasionally the plug-in needs to be updated, so if you try to load the show and nothing happens, grab the latest plug-in (using the above link) and install it.

Mac Users
This one's easy. Just click here for a streaming flash video. You'll need the Macromedia Flash plug-in, but almost everyone has that already. If you don't have it, you should, and you'll be prompted to download it. Just follow the directions.

Dialup Users (Windows)
Dialup users won't be able to stream (view) this show on the web. A high-speed connection is required. However...you can download the show and play it on your desktop, but only after you've downloaded and installed the plug-in. The show is just under 5 MB, so it'll take a little while to download.

Dialup Users (Mac)
You folks are out of luck. None of the above solutions will work.

Hope you enjoy the video (unless you're dialing up from a Mac, in which case you might want to consider upgrading).

Luminaria

ATTENTION SHOPPERS: ONLY 12 MORE
INSANE SHOPPING DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS!

WEDNESDAY. Santa Fe and Old Town Albuquerque are famous for their impressive Christmas Eve luminaria displays. I've less than two weeks to figure out how to shoot night photos of luminaria with my extremely complicated digital SLR, not to mention learning how to make hot tamales* (to which I've become hopelessly addicted) for our holiday dinner.

According to Wikipedia, luminarias originated in New Mexico, where they're traditionally displayed on Christmas Eve. Beautiful arrangements of sand-weighted paper bags containing lit candles decorate New Mexico neighborhoods and cemeteries on December 24th. It's believed the lights will guide the spirit of baby Jesus to one's home. Over the years luminarias have become secularized in other parts of the country. For those who can't be bothered with extinguishing bags aflame in the wind, not to mention trying to find sand (if anyone needs sand, we have plenty here in the desert), you can now purchase electric luminaria and save yourself the trouble of actually making them. However, in my opinion, making them is half the fun.

Hints for making luminaria:

• Fill the brown paper sandwich bags with two to four inches of sand. Evidently the sand must be dry. Otherwise the bags will absorb the moisture and tear. I can't imagine this happening in Albuquerque. Right now it's so dry we're beginning to look like prunes.
• Position your bags one to two feet apart on a flat surface away from flammables. (Duh.)
• Anchor the votive candle in the sand by pushing it in about halfway.
• Don't use a regular match to light the candle - use a long grill lighter or long fireplace matches. (Double duh.)
• Keep a pail of water nearby to extinguish flaming bags.

It will be different spending the holidays so far from the family and friends with whom we've celebrated Christmas for decades. (By the way, the politically correct term for the December holiday is Christmukwaanzukkah.) We bought a small tree the other day but have yet to decorate it. Ushering in the holiday spirit will, I'm sure, involve eggnog, Bing Crosby, and several trips to the Mall. Typically I delay Christmas preparations until December 21, preferring to inaugurate the holiday at Solstice. Besides, all the last minute rushing about makes life interesting and gives me an excuse to yawn my way through Christmas Day. This year, however, I will break with tradition and begin my preparations a week in advance. Giving myself a few extra days might actually enable me to stay awake and alert for most of Christmas Day.

By the way, the probability that we will have a White Christmas in Albuquerque is 3%, according to the latest figures from NOAA. I guess I'd better put my skis away.

*Tamales are popular at Christmas dinner tables throughout the Southwest. I recently came across an online course called, "A Beginner's Guide to Tamales." It's a six day course. Need I say more?

The Wizards of Winter

THURSDAY. It's that time of year again...

Happy December!

Apologies to those of you reading this over a dialup connection. It would be worth getting cable just to see this video.

This 25,000 light Christmas display, synchronized to "Wizards of Winter," by Trans-Siberian Orchestra, is the work of Carson Williams, an elecrical engineer from Mason, Ohio. This extravaganza cost $10,000 and took two months to complete. Mr. Williams didn't want to disturb the neighbors with the noise, so he broadcast the music over a low-power FM radio station. After serious traffic problems and an auto accident on December 6, 2004, the neighbors made him shut down his display. It's captured on the internet, however, for all posterity.

Enjoy, and be grateful he's not your neighbor.