Christmas Celebrations

The Equator lies to the south, about a half day's bumpy ride by bus, but the island's elevation negates the tropical latitude. We were dozing, tucked in sleeping bags, when a rousing chorus of Gloria Hallelujah and O Come All Ye Faithful woke us.

The month of December brings a flurry of parties and celebrations, leading up to the culmination of Christmas chaos or cheer, depending on your own personal viewpoint. In Spain, Christmas is celebrated not only on the 25th of December but also includes all the surrounding days from the 24th of December (Noche Vieja) until the 6th of January (Reyes).

The Santa Claus Pub Crawl takes place on the last working Friday before Christmas. There is only one requirement: each crawler must be dressed head to toe in full Santa suit. Leeway can be given for home jobs performed on the suits such as cutting off trousers to keep cool and wearing thongs instead of gumboots, but every man, woman and over tanned Nordic backpacker must be fully Santa-ed to join in.

Surreal was not the right word. The sea of crimson that stretched behind me deserved something more than that. This was more of a crazed hallucinogenic trip, a dream that I could wake up from at any second. This was either the work of a madman or a genius. But, as they say, 'when in Rome...'

What better way to get into the Christmas spirit than to sing carols by candlelight in the brisk air in a quaint New England seacoast town as the lights of the town tree blink on for the first time. So begins the annual Marblehead Christmas Walk in Marblehead, Massachusetts, part party, part historical tour, and part shopping festival.

When I was a little girl, the day after Christmas was almost as much fun as the day itself. It was, and still is, a national holiday in Great Britain and Ireland, which makes a great deal of sense to me; adults get a day off to relax (or recuperate!), kids can look forward to going to the pantomime, and best of all, there's still that magical feeling of good cheer in the air.

No night in all the year is so charged with the supernatural as Christmas Eve - or so the legends say.

Let those who have no light in themselves light candles!' thundered the great Roman Tertullian. 'Let those over whom Hell fire is hanging, fix to their doors laurels doomed presently to burn. You are the light of the world, you are the tree ever green...make not your own house a temple.' Like the Puritans in later centuries, Tertullian urged the people to stop their so-called 'pagan' festivities at Christmas time.

As the 25th approaches, the men start trickling back into the village from the myriad creeks they've been panning. The general store becomes a hub of activity. The ancient scales come out of their box and preside over the once-blue table outside.