Santa Claus is well-known and decorations even sometimes include snow, despite the fact that it does not snow here in Cusco on Christmas...or any other time of the year, for that 
matter. Fortunately, however, the customs of Cusco still remain, despite the changing times. One custom that goes on throughout the entire month of December is the giving, receiving and consumption of fruitcake, called panetón. 
Panetón becomes its own food group during the month of December. The sweet bread with the little red and green candied dried fruit bits and raisins can be found everywhere. It is commonly given by employers to their employees to say thank you for your work during the year. It is also commonly given to friends to say Merry Christmas. Go to a church meeting or service over Christmas time and you'll more than likely come away eating panetón with its customary hot chocolate (I have had this experience at least 3 times in the past month, in addition to having 2 panetones in my house). It also makes a great breakfast or snack. Christmas in Cusco just isn't quite the same without panetón. So now your house is decorated and you've been enjoying your panetón and hot chocolate. What's next? Glad you asked.If you live in my house, the next thing is celebrating Advent.
All throughout the month of December, my roommate and I celebrate Advent with our dear friend Marga, 
who helps us in our house, and anyone else who happens to be at our house on any given day. The lighting of the Advent candles give us a good way to remind us of the blessings that God has given us in the sending of His Son for us. Also, during this time, we hang our stockings and begin filling them with little gifts for each other. On December 23, the last day that Marga is with us
before Christmas, we exchange the gifts in our stockings and finish the last day of Advent. It is a special time for all of us to be together and celebrate Jesus' birth and our friendship. This year, Carrie managed to find a place that sold cappuccinos to go (that is extremely rare in Cusco). Since we all love cappuccino, she brought some home as a special Christmas treat.Christmas Eve morning dawns cool and cloudy, or rainy, possibly sunny if you're lucky. Despite the fact that we are technically in summer over this time, it's not hot. It's actually usually only in the 50s or 60s and generally cloudy or rainy. This, however, refuses to daunt the citizens of Cusco. Christmas Eve morning means the annual Santurantikuy (Quechua for "buy yourself a saint") market
in the main plaza of the city. 
Here you can buy manger scenes, stables, plants to decorate your manger scene, baby Jesuses, handcrafts, 
little good luck charms for the new year, etc. This year I spent the morning at Santurantikuy with my good friend Lisi. W
e had a lot of fun looking at the jewelry, finding a fun chullo for my roommate, deciding that we could make some notebooks like ones we saw for less than what they were selling for and have a lot more fun doing it, speaking Quechua to the vendors (that was me), and just seeing what there was to see. I saw a sign there that was both funny and sad. It said "We restore babies and saints". It sounds funny, but at the same time, it's sad. 
It represents the idolatry that is here in Cusco, of worshipping the Baby Jesus and the saints. It was a sad reminder that not all is as God would want it to be. 
Another interesting aspect of the Santurantikuy market is the good luck charms for the new year. You hope to buy a house next year? You can buy a little model of a house that's supposed to bring you good luck so you can buy a house. You want lots of money? Buy a packet of play money - soles, dollars or euros. You want to graduate from the university? You can even get a tiny little replica of a diploma to bring you good luck. You want work? You can buy a little replica of a hand holding a frog. (I have no idea why a frog. That's just the way it is). 
That will give you good luck so you can get a job. It's sad to see how people are so deceived into thinking that a little packet of play money or a model of a house can bring them good luck and provide what they want. I'd rather trust in the one who created the entire world and all that is within it, the one they call Jehovah Jireh. Nevertheless, Santurantikuy is an interesting experience.Christmas Eve is when things really get interesting. In the evangelical church, churches often have Christmas Eve services, which include special numbers, food, fellowship and remembering the birth of Jesus. This year, after the church service, I went to be with my friend Mari, her brother Alfredo and her parents Roberto and Valeria. Christmas Eve is a traditionally family affair and I was blessed to be a part of their family that night. The Peruvian tradition is that everyone stays up till midnight (or later) on Christmas Eve. During the course of the evening sometime there is food (we had chicken, pork and potatoes) and people often play games, talk, watch movies, etc with their families. Around about 11:30 PM, you start to hear fireworks going off in the streets. At midnight, everyone goes out to the streets and the fireworks REALLY start to go off. All over the place, you can see little flashes of light sparkling in the night sky. In the midst of all this, everyone in your family gives each other a hug and wishes each other Feliz Navidad. Then you go back inside, exchange gifts and maybe play some more games and then go to bed.
Christmas day is actually kind of anticlimactic, as much of the celebration happens on Christmas Eve. Usually, it's spent with family eating and enjoying being together. Our EMM missionary team spent the day together eating, exchanging gifts and playing games (we have this thing for games on our team...strategy games, Dutch Blitz and Rook are some of our favorites). Then we all dispersed to go to our respective houses and call our respective families on skype to wish them a merry Christmas too.
Christmas in another country is always different. There's no "I'll be home for Christmas", no "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas". But God provides other blessings to make up for that. Being here in Cusco, away from my biological family, I've developed a deeper appreciation for the body of Christ. I may not have my parents, brothers, uncles, aunts, cousins and grandparents with me here, but God has given me family and made me a part of something larger than myself. So Feliz Navidad from me to you and may God bless you all in this new year, just as He continues to bless "all the dear children in [His] tender care".
