In December, I celebrate (all Venezuelans do) Christmas and New Year's Eve with dinners on the nights of the 24th and 31st, which include traditional dishes that are only prepared on these dates.
In January, my city celebrates the Procession of the Divine Shepherdess (Divina Pastora) on the 14th, a centennial activity of the Catholic Church (although anyone can participate even if they are not believers), that gathers hundreds of thousands of people from all over the country.
Whoa, that 14th January vacation seems like a grand one
Right! A really big one...
I'm curious, what kind of traditional dishes do you prepare for Christmas and New Year?
That January 14 holiday seems to be big deal. That's a lot of people together in one place. My OCD and my anxiety could not handle it lol.
Best wishes for you.
Wowww! Our traditional Christmas dish consists of Hallaca, Ham Bread (Pan de Jamón), Chicken Salad and Baked Pork Legs.
The hallaca is a rectangular cake made with pre-cooked corn flour that looks a bit like a Mexican tamale, and has a filling of beef, chicken and pork stew, along with vegetables, and its ingredients and cooking method may vary according to the region. All this is wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in boiling water. It contains products from Europe, Africa and the American continent, which represents the cultural and ethnic diversity of Venezuela.
While the Pan de Jamón is an elongated bread stuffed with smoked ham, bacon, olives and raisins, which can be prepared with bread dough or puff pastry dough.
As for the January 14 activity in my city, Barquisimeto, it is something that I cannot describe in words... it is a spiritual experience that you have to live in person sometime in your life.
That hallaca sounds very yummy. The Pan de Jamón sounds good too but I don't like olives nor raisings 🙈 Maybe I could try it if there is a version without them haha.
If someday I go to Barquisimeto, Venezuela, I'll make sure to go by January 14 so I can live that experience, although I'm not a very religious person and I don't like crowded places 🤭