Fascinating facts about Christmas time in Peru!

Peru is one of those countries that, thanks to its incomparable diversity, preserves a rich tradition in its regions. There, they share particular ways of celebrating Christmas that are passed from generation to generation and that last today.

Discover this tour through the fascinating traditions that Peru has to celebrate Christmas and choose your next destination:

1. Southern Black Christmas and its folk dances: In the south of Peru, close to the department of Ica, is the province of Cañete.

Between dances and songs its inhabitants come together to welcome baby Jesus. The little ones start a foot foot as a promise to their ancestors to commemorate this birth. The joy of the children, the applause of the adults and the musical instruments such as the donkey’s jaw and the cajon, are part of this great Creole-Afro-Peruvian festival.

2. Santurantikuy and the Plaza de Armas in Cusco:
If one of the things that you enjoy the most when visiting a new place is its architecture, then this beautiful Inca city is going to enchant you. Artisans from the regions gather in the Plaza de Armas to display their colorful creations in the Santurantikuy, which means «the sale of the saints,» the artisan market that opens on December 24th.

3.The traditional Mass of the Gallo:

On the night of December 24, before Christmas dinner, families go to church to celebrate this mass that commemorates the birth of Jesus, narrated through the gospel of the Bible and the readings.

In this ceremony, people carry their own images of the child to place them in the manger or main nativity of the temple. The Misa de Gallo is celebrated in various regions of Peru as well as in other Latin American countries, but in these it is known by different names.

4.Family Christmas in Lima:

In the capital, this festivity is celebrated with lights, huge Christmas trees and a wide range of shops.

Families meet on the night of December 24 and prepare a dinner with turkey, hot chocolate with cloves and cinnamon, panettone, applesauce and of course the traditional and delicious Pisco Sour.

If you dream of visiting Lima, Christmas is one of the best times of the year to do so.

5.Births in Puno:

After midnight on December 24, some families often read the coca leaves as a harbinger of events that are about to take place in the new year.

Spanish and Inca traditions converge in this great holiday celebration that evokes the best of Peruvian culture every year. Its gastronomy, architecture, history and crafts are part of this great wealth that you cannot miss.

With the ideas of our blog you can spend the best New Year. Start 2022 traveling through Peru!
😉 Which one would you go to? For more information about our trips you can visit our website and contact us at [email protected]