Preparing for the Big One

Christmas is almost here! I will not deny this is one of my favorite holidays of all time. The Christmas Holiday season in New Mexico is the most festive and celebrated event of the year.

A wonderful mix of Anglo, Hispanic, native American and other cultural traditions, Christmas holidays in the Southwest can be very different from the rest of the world.

Soft warm light is cast from little brown bags with sand and candles are lit and line sidewalks, walls, and building tops, called Luminarias (Loo-MIN-ah-ree-ahs) or Farolitos (fah-RO-lee-tos) depending on the part of New Mexico you are in.

Chili peppers are one of the things that the state is most famous for. "Red or Green" is the state question, referring to weather you want red or green chili on your meal (not to be confused with Texas chili or any other). Even McDonald's offer green chili on their sandwiches. If you want both, you just ask for "Christmas".
(Image courtesty of Heather Buna, CapriShine.com)

And while the chili is certain tasty on your food, it goes far beyond the dinner table. Used to make decorations such as Ristras (dried red chilies strung on long pieces of twine or in a wreath to hang outside the home) hung on Christmas trees and more.

Bizchochitos (Bees-ko-chee-toes)the delightful cookies which I covered in October here, are traditional both as something to make for your own home and to give away a seasonal gifts. Amazing with Tea or Coffee, I can't say enough how wonderful these are.

Tamales are simply amazing. Wrapped in a cornmeal breading (Masa) and filled with meat and spices, the wrapped and steamed in a corn husk before steaming. Fragrant and full of flavor, these are traditional to eat on Christmas and/or New Year day.

Las Posadas is a traditional Spanish outdoor play, a re-enactment of Mary and Joseph’s search for a room on Christmas Eve. It is a process that leads door to door, that any and all are invited to participate in. Las Posadas represents the troubles that Joseph and Mary faced in Bethlehem while trying to find a room. The procession is made of groups of adults and children who go door to door singing and requesting lodging (posada). Each door they go to represents an inn, and the owner represents the innkeeper who then refuses the request.(As in the story of Joesph and Mary.) Eventually the procession ends at a preordained place, where the owner recognizes Joesph and Mary and Allows them to come in.


Posole is a stew made withcorn (hominy), pork and spices, and sometimes potatoes which is sevred steaming hot year around, but particularly on Christmas Eve and New Years Day. For some it is the good luck equivalent of eating Cabbage, Black- eyed peas or rice on New years day.

All this and more. Native American dances, celebrations all over the state, good food, great decor, and all wrapped up in the tradition of joy. :) If I missed any, email me and let me know!

Beautiful Sangre de Cristo Mountains

Thursday, July 22, 2004

This is the last of the photos for the day.... just a smattering of some of the beauty. Later I'll send photos of the trip home, the Mesas, plains, and sunsets. Rain and storms... barbed wire and soft clouds.

Photo descriptions:
1. Horses abound here. Many people bring their own equines, or rent for the day. There are even campsite just for horse owners.

2. Gorgeous wildflowers are abundant. The colors so bright they seem unreal.

3. Rocky cliffs provide shadow and landscape for the walls of this valley. Shrubs grasp where they can.

4. The water is shallow here in the mountains, but the rocks and logs make for beautiful falls.

5. Tiny bees, ladybugs, and other beauties light on flowers to partake in the feast of pollen.

6. It is hard to catch a photo of these fragile butterflies, they light so fast and are gone before I can blink!

7. Wide creeks and tiny streams weave their way down the mountainside.

8. Flower buttons and long grasses make the area lush and peaceful.

9. So many trails, and horses... it is like the old west everywhere.

Some Favorite Photos

Wednesday, June 23, 2004

These are just a few of my favorite pictures of New Mexico. I take my camera everywhere, I find that there is probably fifty or more opportunities in a day to capture the personality of this place I love so much!

1) This is a black and white of the Sandia Mountains as seen from the road coming down from La Luz trail.

2) Here we are in the Sandia Mountains looking out eastward toward Moriarity and Edgewood. The rocky terrain of these mountains is so different from what I experienced in the Ozarks, the Blue Ridge Mountains, and other eastern and southern mountain ranges. The Rocky Mountain range has a personality that begs to be discovered and dares you to delve deeply into her deepest secret places.

3) Santa Fe is a wonderful mix of old and new, traditional and contemporary. Sometimes walking down the sidewalk I feel like I am in some old western movie.

4) Windows and walls say so much about this part of the country. Adobe is prolific here, and comes in colors that you'd have to see to believe. Some of these buildings have walls that are a foot thick, and some even still have dirt floors. It is a walk backwards in time, reminding you that while New Mexico is hip and modern in every sense of the word, it has roots and tradition as solid as the ground we walk on.

5) Life struggles and refuses to be held in check no matter where you look. Even in the rocky terrain of lava fields, yucca, cactus, and sage lay claim to every crack and crevasse, growing abundant and strong.

6) Albuquerque is home to the International Balloon Fiesta, and at almost all times of the year you can catch glimpses of these graceful hot air balloons drifting across clear blue skies.

7) The sunsets are spectacular. Sometimes fire, sometimes ice. Streaks of every color imaginable paint the horizon each evening, never the same twice, creating a canvas that soothes the weary soul.