Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Dec/92

Contributor - Brigido Cabera

Title - Christmas in the Dominican Republic

Topic - Christmas

When the short days and the tropical rains visit our half-island and the children start asking when the child Jesus will come to bring them their Christmas present it's a clear signal that Christmas is coming.

The Dominican Republic is a, very happy place where you see the people joking around; they joke about the weather, the economy, politicians, the beautiful and the ugly, etc. Not many people work 8 hours per day like North Americans; people normally work four hours, then go home for dinner and siesta, and after two hours they return to work. However, November and December are very busy months for working people, because the businesses are open the entire day and some overtime.

Radio and TV. help the Dominicans to think about Christmas because the music and commercials are all related to the season. People sing and dance to what we call Villancicos, Alguinaldos, Vebenas, or simply Christmas music.

The whole country celebrates Christmas Eve. For many it is the most important event of the year; many people plan all year to save money and food for Noche Buena (Christmas Eve). The "alguinaldos" is a type of celebration very well known to all Dominicans. Beginning in early December the people come out after 10 p.m. and surprise their friends and relatives by singing Villancicos (Christmas songs) outside their homes; nobody knows beforehand if they will be visited during the night.

A group of 10 or 20 people gather for this , caravena", some bring musical instruments, while others sing; and from the group they choose a leader who will be considered the host for the evening. The leader could be a singer, a poet, or possibly some kind of speaker. The group marc es to the first house in silence especially when they get close to the house. The host organizes the songs and singers according to the family and occasion, as t is time is often used to declare a deep feeling of love or friendship. Following a solo, poetry is read, and this is called the dedication or the aiguinaldo. Finally, like a choir, the whole group starts singing together the Villancicos. During this time of singing, the people inside their house do not turn off the lights. After the dedication they usually thank the group for visiting them; however, sometimes the group is not welcome, especially if the love declaration was not appreciated or the singing was not very good. In cases like this, the father or eldest son will tell them something like this: "Lazy people go home to sleep." If the singing was appreciated and the group receives a positive response, the group will sing "Open the door for us we want to come in and after we enter you close it again." (Verses like this one are prepared especially for the occasion.) If the owner lets the people come in; he must give something to the group - food, beverage, tea, coffee or money. Normally following this, some people from the home will join the group to surprise someone else.

In general, during the month of December, people in the cities and towns of the Dominican Republic spend a lot of money and time on this type of activity. It seems that everybody wants to share the Christmas spirit. It is a good time to make new friends, or even to become engaged or married.

CHRISTMAS FOR CHRISTIANS

Because all of these celebrations are more commercial than Christian, more pagan than Biblical, most born again Christians try to make a distinction between the religious and secular celebrations. However, because it is such a joyful time for all Dominicans, the Christians take advantage of the peoples' festive spirit to share the message of Christ with friends and neighbours. In non-pentecostal churches it is more common to have Christmas celebrations and decorations in their churches and homes; also the services usually include the singing of Christmas hymns, preparing plays and celebrating Christmas Eve (Noche Buena).

Most Christian churches in the Dominican Republic are from Pentecostal denominations, and here the celebrations are very simple with some exchanging of presents, and sometimes dinner in each other's homes, especially when not all are born again Christians at home. Families with their young people prepare dinner on the 24th of December and after that they go to pray at church because it's dangerous to be walking the streets with many drunk people and drunk drivers.

Christmas day, December 25, is the only day that the majority of Dominicans dress formally with the men wearing jackets and ties, and women wearing new dresses bought especially for this day. Christians often find the Christmas season disheartening because many weak believers return to their former way of living in the pagan tradition which has a hold on them that is too strong to allow them to completely break away. In the last two decades, churches have been changing their ways of observing Christmas, but the process of teaching people about the difference between paganism and Christianity is not so simple and it takes time for them to understand.

THE NEW YEAR

The 31st of December is the most special day of the year for the Christians in the Dominican Republic. They have dinner early and at about 10 p.m. everyone, including many unbelieving families, go to church to pray and thank the Lord. At midnight, all people pray together and cry in front of God's altar asking for forgiveness and renewed strength to start the new year. At 11:55 p.m. in a large number of churches, the congregation reads together Psalm 136; the minister reads the first part of the verse and the congregation answers: "For His mercy endureth forever." After the reading they pray together and at midnight the pastor or elder declares, "Happy New Year to all."

New Year's Day is another day for new clothes, because the people say they will be spending the rest of the year wearing new clothing.

On the first of January all the Christians, no matter what denomination, go to a big Crusade, La Batalia de la Fe (The Battle of Faith). This normally starts at 1:00 p.m. and goes until 5:00 p.m. Believers from different parts of the country come to worship the Lord and to listen to the New Year's sermon. Sometimes the crowd numbers over 80,000 people. The preacher will give an appropriate sermon for the New Year, and will preach from one to two hours. The service is concluded with all the ministers in prayer for the country and for revival for all the Christians.

Happy New Year - Feliz Ano Nuevo - and God Bless You!

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