As the night falls on Christmas Eve, most American children are headed to bed in hopes seeing what Santa dropped off during the night, while parents and adults put the finishing touches of what they hope is a magical Christmas morning.
But for the Latinx, Hispanic and Filipino community, the party is already underway, with tamales, adobo, lechón and pancit on deck.
Nochebuena, which translates to “the good night,” is a yearly holiday in which certain communities celebrate Christmas on the night of Dec. 24 rather than Dec. 25. While the traditions and celebrations of the night can vary based on culture and region, a common theme persists: it’s about being together.
“There’s only two or three times a year where you’ll get the entire extended family together,” said Alexandro Gradilla, associate professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies at California State University, Fullerton. “It really is not only a holiday of love, but it’s also truly a holiday of peace.”
There are many different ways Nochebuena is celebrated, but it all traces back to one source: religion and Spanish colonialization.
When Spaniards came to the Americas beginning in the late 1400s, they also brought Catholicism, which sees Christmas as the day Jesus Christ was born. The celebration begins around midnight as that is believed to be the time Christ was born. Today, some go to church for nine straight nights, culminating with mass the night of Christmas Eve or at midnight on Dec. 25.
However, Gradilla said indigenous people throughout the Americas had long celebrated the winter solstice, which typically happens just a few days before Christmas. The two celebrations intertwined to form their own unique event.
“People are bringing in elements of their own seasonal practices that predate colonization by the Spaniards and the introduction of Catholicism,” he said. “It’s a hybrid between celebrations that people held before.”
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