Christmas Stamps

A Christmas to remember

I love Christmas stamps, in particular the ones from Ecuador. Christmas is a special time for people of Christian faith, or for those that are followers of Jesus Christ. Not all Christians, or followers of Christ celebrate Christmas, as this is sometimes considered a “Catholic” tradition, and not overall consensus belief as to the day of birth, nor the celebration thereof.

The spirit of Christmas can be felt in late November for the western world, culminating on 25th of December. As for the eastern world (Orthodox), it culminates on the 6th or 7th of January. For either part of the world, the illustrations on symbols vary greatly, but all have the same characters; Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. This is referred to as the Nativity.

Christmas in Ecuador is celebrated differently than in the USA, for example. Houses in Ecuador do not have actual real pine trees to decorate, but instead use a put-together box tree, that you get a from a retail store. What is actually visibly decorated are the plazas, or their town centers, they do light up.

El Pase del Niño

Ecuador loves to celebrate el Pase del Niño on Christmas Eve, which is on 24th of December. Local residents carry a statue or image of baby Jesus through the city streets. Jesus is often accompanied by Mary, Joseph, the Three Kings, locals in native costume, bands of traditional musicians, and folkloric dancers. Cuenca celebrates one of the most famous Pase del Niño processions in Ecuador, but other towns hold different versions of this event. This is the same type of celebration as they do in Mexico, but they call it Posadas.