Bolivia

Basics of Bolivia...
Bolivia is 424,165 square miles, which is almost double the area of Texas! Bolivia is a largely Spanish speaking country, but also the people speak Aymara and Quecha. Bolivia has a population of 9,119,000 people and beats New York by a whopping 943,867 people. Bolivia's neighboring countries are Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Peru. 62.5% of the populated areas are urban while only 37.5% is rural, and the capitol is Sucre. So if you aren't a city person then don't go to Bolivia.

Custom one: Decorations...
Look around your town and take in all of the beautiful decorations. You will see a lot of Santa Clauses, Disney characters with Christmas attire, lights, and maybe a Nativity or two. Well when the Bolivians decorate they set up "pesebres" or stables. The people put statuettes of Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, and other figures known to be at the manger. Most houses have smaller "nacimientos" or Navitivities. Some are so small the family can hollow out gourds and place the Nativity inside it! While the more financially blessed and churches have much larger Nativities. Much like a holiday in Mexico, called Dia de Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, the people of Bolivia place small gifts in the nacimientos for the baby Jesus.

Custom two: Church...
Around the time of the holidays more and more people are drawn out to their churches. Most services start around eight o' clock and run until nine or nine thirty. Some kids usually don't want to attend due to the lateness of the service. Well in Bolivia the attend "Misa del Gallo" or the rooster's mass. The mass starts at midnight of Christmas Eve and can last end in the early hours of the morning. After the mass the families all return to their homes to celebrate Christmas Day. Once the families reach home they begin to feast. They eat "picana" a soup with beef, chicken, corn, and spices. The people they also eat tropical fruits, roast pork or beef. and salad. And for dessert they eat "turron" a taffy filled wafer, that doesn't sound too tasty. Familes recieve a "canaston" from their employer. A canaston is a cheap basket filled with basic condiments like ketchup, mustard, jams, bread, crackers, cookies, sugar, rice, and flour. And if the employee was extra good they may recieve a bag of choclates or candies. They also recieve a type of sweet bread filled with raisins and nuts called "pareten" and a non-alcoholic cider called "cidra." The basket is wrapped in clear plastic wrap and nice, big, red bow. The kids also take part in singing "villancicos" which are children's Christmas songs. media type="youtube" key="L6_nZapQyps" width="425" height="350" Works Cited. "Christmas Traditions in Bolivia. The Pesebre, Canaston, Paneton and Fireworks!" //Bolivia Facts, People, Culture, News, Food, Maps, Santa Cruz, La Paz, Cochabamba//. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. []. "Bolivia Information." //Macalester College: Private Liberal Arts College//. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. []. By: Isidro