Extending from the last week of November to late-January, the celebration of Christmas in Puerto Rico is among the longest in the world. Commercially, stores sell Holiday merchandise as early as September. Product of a complex political history, autochthonous tradition has emerged along elements borrowed from Spain and later the United States. Among members of the Puerto Rican diaspora, Christmas is the period of the year where local traditions are practiced more openly.
The long-standing cultural prevalence of Catholic practices adopted from Spain serve as the main basis of Puerto Rican Christmas tradition, but Protestant elements have systematically been merged into them after American sovereignty was imposed over the archipelago by the Treaty of Paris. Most of the Hispanic influences can be seen in the practice of seasonal masses (i.e. Misa de Gallo and Misa de Aguinaldo), the music (i.e. Las Tunas, Décima, Parranda, Aguinaldos, Seises, Villancicos, etc.) and the actual celebration of Christmas, Three Kings Day, Santos Inocentes and the Octavas. External influence is most evident in the adoption of Santa Claus and the Christmas Tree, but also includes the handing of gifts on the 25th and the popularization of some Christmas Carols. In Puerto Rico, models of Bethlehem are displayed (a Spanish vestige) along American-style ornaments and decorations.
History Spanish colonial administration When and where Christmas was first celebrated in the Americas is unclear, but it is believed that it was aboard a Spanish caravel somewhere near the Greater Antilles. Among the proposed theories is that Martín Alonzo Pinzón celebrated the first along the crew of La Pinta, while anchored at a bay in modern-day Aguada. In Puerto Rico, the Spanish traditions mingled with others of Taíno and African origin, leading to an endemic syncretism. The introduction of the Misal with the Misas de Aguinaldo in Puerto Rico dates back as far back as 1512, and their actual practice took place during this early period of colonization. These masses come to a close with the Misa de Gallo, also called the Rooster's Mass, which is held at midnight on Christmas Eve.
As with other places in Latin America, the core of the Christmas celebration remains the same festivities, the Christmas Eve feast, the midnight mass and the exchange of gifts for Three-Kings Day. However, a period of two to three weeks where people participate in public and private festivities where Afro-Caribbean rhythms are predominant differentiates it from other Iberoamerican locations.
American colonial administration (1898–1952) From 1898 to 1930, Puerto Rican children had to attend school on Three Kings Day since the celebration was not part of the American tradition. Emphasis was still given to the Catholic narrative of the Nativity and the Three Kings Day festivity as the predominant religious element of Christmas, despite the Protestant aspects introduced with the new administration, mainly due to being passed down via oral tradition. This has been noted as conflicting with Anglo-American traditions and linked to a historic resistance to assimilate culturally, intrinsically tied to the ongoing status of Puerto Rico as an unincorporated territory of the United States. Aware of this trend, the colonial administration made attempts to massify the figure of Santa Claus, with efforts that included Commissioner of Public Instruction Juan Bernardo Huyke's book A Story of Santa Claus. Published during the 1920s, the story changed traditional elements that included eliminating the North Pole and reindeers and added Catholic elements, in an attempt to gain traction among Puerto Rican children. Despite this, during the first half of the 20th Century local authors parodied the Americanization project, with the figure of Santa Claus itself being vilified as foreign and imposed, notably leading to the dueling narrative of Abelardo Díaz Alfaro's Santa Clo va a La Cuchilla (1947), in which several rural children that are only aware of the local customs mistake a teacher dressed as Santa Claus for the Devil.
Commonwealth (1952–present)
Celebrations Religious Placing grass in a box -meant for the camels of the Three Kings- is traditional in Puerto Rico. Despite this, the depiction of the trio riding on horses is common, as it is more akin to Puerto Rican history. In certain municipalities, the depiction of the Three Kings has become a tradition of its own, such as the Reyes Cantores Isabelinos and the Reyes Juanadinos. The latter are the most perduring representation, dating back to its 1884 creation by priest Valentín Echevarría, and have traveled throughout Puerto Rico and abroad, visiting places like Cuba and the Vatican. The Stars that compose Orion's Belt, part to the constellation which is visible during winter, are folklorically associated with the Three Kings and are celebrated in a fashion that the Star of Bethlehem is as well. Informal masses mixed with music and aguinaldos were held for the Three Kings as part of the Catholic tradition of Promesas, promises that were made throughout the year in exchange for help with some issue. If one of these promises was perceived as fulfilled, they would be commemorated for years and, in some cases, from generation to generation. The Baptist Church of Caguas began organizing a "living tree" in 1989, with a large tree cover concealing a chorus.
Associated The Día de los Santos Inocentes is celebrated on December 28, and it is characterized by lighthearted pranks and festivals were people wear costumes meant to symbolize Roman centurions in commemoration of the Massacre of the Innocents. New Year's Eve is part of the Puerto Rican Christmas season. The gift-giving ends with Three Kings Day, which still receives cultural precedence and marks the end of the traditional Latin American season. In Puerto Rico, however, the Octavas (or Octavitas) are celebrated for eight consecutive days and then followed by the Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián beginning on January 20 (the week of Día de San Sebastián). The Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián were first held as a religious celebration in 1957, headed by priest Padre Madrazo and his brother Higino. Afterwards, several neighbors held a reunion at the house of Rafaela Balladares de Brito to revive the tradition. From there the event was revived as a festival which featured artisan elements (such as the Cabezudos), music and arts craft with modern elements. The event has grown to attract island-wide attention and regularly attracts more than 500,000 guests. Natural trees were traditionally burned on February 2, Día de la Virgen de la Candelaria. As open fires became prohibited, government disposing programs replaced the Día de la Candelaria.
Other customs Decorations
According to Francisco Morales Padrón, in the early 1770s the first nativity pieces were ordered by Agustín Valldejuli and arrived to San Juan in the Catalan frigate San Francisco de Paula. By the 19th Century, the exhibit of Bethlehem dioramas (known in Spanish as Belénes) was widespread and used in conjunction to the playing of traditional music and of religious activities like the Promesas de Reyes. Catholic Churches (and their subsidiaries) and political entities, like the Capitolio and municipalities, still exhibit these stamps. The introduction of the foreign practice of the Christmas Tree (historically attributed to scientist Agustín Stahl, who began decorating his Bayamón house with one circa 1866) weakened the Belén tradition by the 1960s (with people replacing the pine with the local tintillo and adorning them with a host of makeshift materials), tough it survived side-by-side along the new arrival. Rafael Ángel de León became the first to cultivate a large crop of cupresus lusitanica for commercial use at Barranquitas, which was later substituted with imports and artificial trees.
In response, the late 20th Century saw the emergence of individual and collective initiatives such as Ángel David López's Ancus de Crey which work to revert this pattern and solidify the Belén practice through the collection of pieces and the introduction of a relevant festival. The figures relevant to the Three Kings Day and Bethlehem traditions are widely present in the work of Puerto Rican artisans, who represent these figures in their work throughout the year. The display of the pascua, including the local variant known as pascua jíbara is ubiquitous. The re-painting of houses in the weeks leading to Christmas is also common. The use of Christmas lights found its way into Puerto Rico during the 20th Century, becoming quickly widespread in households and businesses and has since grown to include both exhibitions and competitions. As the 21st Century began, the decoration became more sophisticated and grew to include mechanized or inflatable pieces.
Exchange of gifts Historically, gifts varied depending on the economic background of who gave them and included things like traditional food, beverages, flowers and sweets. However, as with most other regions, the commercialization of Christmas changed this in favor of more ostensible and expensive presents (also leading to the introduction of practices such as Secret Santa) and a focus on publicity and consumerism that kickstarts with Black Friday. The government has benefited from this by introducing a special Christmas lottery. Christmas cards began being used in Puerto Rico during the 19th Century, presenting a convenient alternative to the traditional exchange of dishes. In 1950, Pava Print introduced Christmas cards personalized for the Puerto Rican public with art by local artists, which found popularity among both the public and the government.
Music and food Traditional music Traditional Christmas music has been recorded for commercial use for nearly a century, with Manuel Jiménez and the groups Los Jardineros and Indiano being among the first. Parrandas or Trullas are a traditional form of improvised concert, in which a group of people join a group of friends (some of which must play an instrument such as the Puerto Rican cuatro or güiro) and visit houses singing these Christmas songs. When individuals are suddenly visited by a parranda without warning during the middle of the night, this is called an asalto. The term "Reyar" makes reference to the organization of these events in conjunction to the Three Kings Day celebration. Aguinaldos, rhymes, bombas, Seis Chorrea'o and other types of festive music are played during the trullas.
Seasonal songs have been gathered in publications such as La música folclórica de Puerto Rico, A tocar y cantar en Navidad, Parranda y tradición, Cancionero de décimas puertorriqueñas, seises y aguinaldos, Las Parrandas que nos unen en la Navidad and Cancionero navideño y método de guitarra sin maestro. Teaching courses for the cuatro usually include, or concentrate on, Christmas pieces. Modern lifestyle (with its lack of free time and limited access to some communities among other factors that work against the tradition) has reduced the amount of Parrandas in recent years, tough groups like Los Trulleros de Aquí and Los Parranderos Borincanos have continued it.