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Just because you are not home for the holidays doesn’t mean that you can’t bring the holidays to you. Traditionally at Thanksgiving, friends and family gather around the table sharing their gratitude, while indulging in a hearty feast. Numerous restaurants in San José del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas offer a full Thanksgiving feast, so that people from all over can come together and celebrate the harvest cornucopia. The Original Park Restaurant and Bar is home to one of the best Thanksgiving meals in town. The restaurant’s owners, perhaps missing home themselves, created` a holiday special with all of their homemade favorites including soups, salads, yams, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, stuffing, turkey, and pumpkin pie. Plates come in extra large portions for only $25 US. Half-size orders and children’s menus are also available. For those who prefer to prepare their own meals, we have some helpful hints on how to enhance your traditional turkey day feast with Mexican flare.
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The turkey has become the food of choice for celebratory occasions in México, especially for Christmas and New Year’s. For the Mexican twists, start by replacing dinner rolls with bolillos, green bean casserole with chilied corn, yams with camote (a sweet potato dish), cranberry relish with mango salsa, and apple pie with capirotada (a bread-pudding with apples, raisins, and pecans). A smoky chile cornbread or jalapeño cheese cornbread pudding may also be interesting additions. Once the side dishes are decided, then it’s time to talk turkey. A flavorful mole sauce will really transform this main dish. You can find mole recipes online, and ingredients can be found in most local grocery stores. But if you can beg, borrow, or steal a secret family recipe, that would make it really special.
Right around the corner from Thanksgiving is Christmas. Like in the U.S. and Canada, Christmas is an extremely popular holiday in México. However, in México, the joyous festivities and traditions are perhaps more focused on religious commemorations. Here, Christmas festivities begin the 12th of December, the birthday of La Guadalupana (Virgin of Guadalupe), México’s patron saint. Many things come to a halt the last few weeks of December so time can be spent with family and friends. The Christmas holidays end on the 6th of January with the arrival of the Three Wise Men, The Magi. Throughout the season, downtown San José del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas are decorated with bright twinkling lights and colorful festive décor. The plazas and the churches become cheerful meeting places, day and night.
Beginning December 16th, Las Posadas are one of the most cherished events. Many neighborhoods participate in the re-enactment of Mary and Joseph wandering through the streets in search of shelter for the night. As the wanderers are invited into a home, everyone gathers around the Nativity scene and says a prayer on The 24th. Noche Buena, Christmas Eve, is especially exciting with the fireworks, church bells and whistles proclaiming the birth of the baby Jesus. This is the night when, following tradition, Catholic families return home after Mass and enjoy their main Christmas meal. Then, it’s time to open gifts, play piñata games, and light sparklers. The following day is all about relaxing with family, while enjoying leftovers from the prior evening. This holiday is not celebrated like an American style Christmas would be with Santa Claus and Christmas trees. Instead, the children leave a note with their gift requests in their shoes, placed by their beds, in hopes that the Three Kings will deliver their gifts on the 6th of January, such as the Magi did for baby Jesus.
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While you may not be Catholic, Christian, or even religious, you can still celebrate year-end holidays with a traditional Mexican feast. Serve up some authentic Mexican dishes like Ensalada de Navidad (Christmas salad with a nice blend of fruits and vegetables), menudo (This soup is said to be an extremely effective cure for a holiday hangover.), pozole (similar to menudo, but made with pork instead of tripe), Mexican rice, bacalao (a salty cod), and roasted ham or turkey. Delicious handmade tamales, often accompanied by atole, are an exceptionally popular holiday dish here in México. Sweeten up your meal with Buñuelos de Navidad (Christmas sweet fritters). If you don’t feel like cooking yourself, surely you will be able to find traditional Mexican Christmas specials and wonderful American-style Christmas meals at restaurants and resorts around Los Cabos.
So even if you are a thousand miles away from home, you can still partake in your favorite holiday traditions, and maybe even add a few new Mexican traditions as well.
By Lauren Glenn
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Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico - Last Revision - 06 October, 2008 - fap
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