Panama

Paco

Panama is a country that is located in Central America. It is bordered by Costa Rica and Columbia. The Caribbean Sea is to the East and the North Pacific Ocean is to the West. The capitol city is Panama City, it has a population of 1.1million. The entire population of Panama is 3,242,000. The native language of Panama is Spanish, about 14% of the population speaks English. The climate is hot, humid, and cloudy. May to January is the rainy season, and from January to May they have a short dry season. The word panama means "the place of abundant fish", but the native people like to think that everything is abundant in Panama.

__** Christmas Custom #1 **__ The Panama City Christmas Parade The festivities begin around the second week in December. The children are all encouraged to participate in the celebration so they can enjoy it as well. The women wear //polleras,// the party dresses, and the floats are decorated. The men wear //monunos,// traditional costumes worn by men at celebrations. At night they light a Christmas tree and sing Christams carols. The churches serve cookies and hot cocoa. Later on they light some fireworks and have a Christmas boat display. The boats are decorated with lights and shown off at Panama City Beach. Compton, Lori. "Panama Christmas Traditions." //Christmas Traditions - A Call Homeward//. Familt-Christmas-traditions.com, 2008. Web. 14 Dec. 2011. [].

__**Christmas Custom #2**__ //Las Posada// is held by small neigborhoods nine days before Christmas. They dress up as Mary and Joseph and search for a place in the inn and are denied at every house. They are finally accepted at the last place they try. They celebrate by hitting pinatas and singing. On Christmas Eve night they shoot off fireworks to signal the coming of Lord Jesus. They have an extravagant feast including chicken tamales, turkey and stuffing, and bowls of fruit. They have fruit cake for desert. //Ron Ponche// is like spiked eggnog which is a common drink served on Christmas. Compton, Lori. "Panama Christmas Traditions." //Christmas Traditions - A Call Homeward//. Familt-Christmas-traditions.com, 2008. Web. 14 Dec. 2011. []. media type="youtube" key="-BEh4SvBMVk" height="315" width="420" "Christmas In Panama - YouTube." //YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.// Web. 14 Dec. 2011. .