Well now, in my brief time here (now a little way into my fifth month here), I have celebrated more holidays than I thought possible. I thought we had a lot of holidays in the United States. It seems every time I turn around, classes are cancelled for another holiday. I now wish to share some of these unique holidays with you.
To begin with, let's start with the Ecuadorian days (that's right, days, plural) of Independence. Ecuador has three official days of Independence. All of which are celebrated and the days taken off. The reason for their being three days of Independence is because the country of Ecuador celebrates the major cities victories over the Spanish as well as the day the country decided to be free from Spanish rule and declare independence. It was on August 10 of 1820 in the city of Quito that a representative council of Ecuadorians called for Indepence and so have now established the first celebrated day of Independence in Ecuador. The second day of Independence is celebrated by the victory of the city Guayaquil, being the first to win independence, over the Spanish in October on the 9th in the year of 1820 and so October 9th is the second Independence Day of Ecuador. The last and final celebrated day of independence in Ecuador is on May 24 where in 1822 the rest of the country of Ecuador gained it's independence from the Spanish. The Ecuadorian Independence Days aren't heavily celebrated as the fourth of July back home, but most major businesses are closed for the holidays.
The next big day of celebrations that gave me a respite from work came in November. While I was hoping to celebrate Halloween on the 31st, here in Ecuador and many other Latin American cultures, Dia de los Disfuntos or Dia de los Muertos is celebrated on the first and second of November. It is on these days that families celebrate the love of loved ones lost and will share a meal at their graveside in honor and memorial to them. You dress up in your best clothes and leave food and flowers for them. A special bread is made for the occasion called pan de gua gua (pronounced wa wa) and a special drink that I can't seem to figure out what it's made from called colada morada. The entire celebration is very unique and lots of fun. The pan looks like little gingerbread men and stuffed with jam! Yum! It's also sad though becuase you're visiting lost loved ones. Sometimes, small children.
Quitofest, or the festival for the foundation of the city of Quito, is a week long celebration. Schools do not take the entire week, but do take from Friday through the weekend. During the week of Quitofest, students at elementary schools are taught the history of Quito, it's foundation, traditional dances during the time of the foundation, and other fun facts and put on a presentation for the families. The children work really hard on these presentations. During this festival, it is customary to crown the Quitena Bonita or the most beautiful Quito girl. During the school presentation, through an election of the teachers, we crowned the most outstanding girl from each grade. In the city however, there is a giant pageant in which girls compete for the honor of Quitena Bonita. The winner is presented on Saturday during the city's parade. Each night, the city was regailed with fireworks and their were three parades. Within seperate neighborhoods of the city, were block parties and concerts were held in every major park throughout the city. It was a fun time and to see the people of Quito so proud of their heritage was a week to remember.
This about wraps up this blog and these two unique holidays that I wished to express. Until next time...Bendiga con Dios
No comments:
Post a Comment