Uruguay

__**URUGUAY**__  By: Jeronimo

Uruguay is located in South America, and a lot of it is surrounded by water. Uruguay is in the Austral Temperate Zone in the Southern Hemisphere, the climate is pretty mild in this area. The highest temperature in the summer is about 40 degrees Celcius, and the lowest temperature in the winter is about two or three degrees below zero. The people of Uruguay use the Uruguayan Peso as their form of currency.

POPULATION: 3,494,000 people SPOKEN LANGUAGES: Spanish and Portunol CAPITAL: Montevideo TOTAL SURFACE AREA: 313,782 square km

__ CHRISTMAS CUSTOMS __

__DELIVERING OF THE PRESENTS__

Instead of Santa Clause coming to deliver presents to the kids, Papa Noel comes at exactly twelve o'clock and puts the presents under the tree. At exactly twelve o'clock, the parents tell the kids to look up at the sky and look at a particular star, and while a few of the adults are occupying the kids, a few of the other adults put the presents under the tree. Some of the adults who arent helping out with this tricking of the kids, might be setting of fireworks. A lot of adults set off fireworks and the cities light up and look very pretty. In Montevideo, after all the kids open the presents and everything, the adults go down to the middle of the city and park their cars in the street, and crank up their music very loudly, and thats where a lot of fireworks happen, too.

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__THE MEAL__ A lot of the Christmas traditions are celebrated on Christmas Eve. One of the traditions on Christmas Eve, is called the 'Holy Meal." This is a 12 coarse meal, that the family sits down and eats together. The white cloth that the table is covered with is very symbolic as well, it represents the clothing that baby Jesus was wrapped in. There is also a large white candle that is in the middle of the table that represents Christ the light of the world. Another thing incorporated with this meal is that they have to have bread and salt on the table. Some of the food that could be made for this meal include: roast fish, cooked beans, saurkraut, noodles with ground walnuts, honey and wine. The meal is open to family and very close friends, and they begin eating when the first star (usually Sirius) appears in the sky.

THIS IS A SITE THAT HAS SOME INTERESTING FACTS ON IT ABOUT URUGUAYAN WAY OF LIFE

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__Citations:__ Planet, Lonely. "Map of Uruguay." //Lonely Planet//. N.p., 2011. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. [].

Tours, Ladatco. "Uruguay." //Ladatco Tours//. N.p., 2009. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. [URU-INFO.htm].

Christmas in Uruguay." //From Uruguay//. N.p., 25 Dec. 2005. Web. 14 Dec. 2011[]

"Christmas Eve." //Wikipedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2011. [Christmas_Eve#Gift_giving|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Christmas_Eve#Gift_giving].