When we started our trip on December 1st we knew that this year’s Christmas will be different for us. In Poland we always spend it together with our families enjoying barszcz, pierogi and the unique atmosphere of the Christmas Eve. In Argentina we experienced something new.
First of all in Argentina Christmas is during summer. The temperature reaches over 30 degrees Celsius so, of course, there is no snow. Homes are decorated with a Christmas tree and other seasonal ornaments. However, there is no tradition of bringing home a live tree – something we do back home. From what we observed, similarly as it is in Poland, the most important day of Christmas is the 24th of December when the family supper is celebrated the longest and Santa Claus comes with presents.
Starting the trip we didn’t know where we would spend this holiday. We hoped it would not be on a bus or in an empty hostel. What we finally experienced was a great evening spent together with an Argentinean family who welcomed us to their home.
We had our part in the evening, too. First, Łukasz baked a Polish bread using the traditional recipe based on sourdough, flour and water. Its taste was appreciated mostly by a five-year-old Juana who enjoyed it one slice after another. Then, Łukasz played the role of Santa Claus speaking Ho! Ho! Ho! with the best Spanish accent he could pronounce. He dressed up in a complete costume with a funny-looking white beard. All went well and we had a good laugh. Only Juana was surprised that Santa Claus was so much taller than the one who came last year.
The Christmas Eve we participated in was a relaxed, family celebration. It started at 10 pm and ended around 2.30 am. Regarding the food two things were similar to what we always experience in Poland – everything was delicious and there was a lot of it!
However, the dishes served on that evening were very different to what we are used to in Poland. I don’t know the proper names of all of them so I’ll simply describe what we ate. First, there was a delicious prawn cocktail, followed by skewers with beef, chicken and liver, grilled vegetables, a potato salad and baked pork chop in a creamy tuna sauce. Then came the dessert – a delicious cake with dulce de leche (which has a very similar taste to melted Polish krówki) and a sauce from different kind of berries. All that accompanied by a very good Argentinean wine.
At midnight we opened a champagne and everyone wished each other Feliz Navidad.
Alejandra, Alberto, Eugenia, Gabriel – muchas gracias por todo!