Traditions From Many Lands Join in a Day for the Family : Christmas Rites Ring With Ethnic Diversity

Baby Jesus lay near a washing machine Wednesday night at the Cervantes household in Orange.

A nativity scene--with plenty of room for admirers to gather around--had been set up in the covered back patio. And when el nino arrived, he did so with the proper fanfare: prayers, songs and good food.

The annual re-enactment of El Nacimiento-- or Jesus’ birth--is a tradition that goes back generations for Maria Ofelia Cervantes and her family. It’s one of many traditions that immigrants have brought to Orange County.

The diversity of those traditions means that not every dinner table will boast a turkey today. And not every Christmas tree was decorated a month in advance. And in some homes the children did not get the first glimpse of their new toys on Christmas morning, having reduced the gift-wrapping paper to tatters; they did that Wednesday night.

For many Orange County families who emigrated from other countries, the climax of the Christmas celebration was Wednesday night.

German Custom

It’s on Christmas Eve that some whose roots are in Mexico follow the ritual of putting the “baby Jesus” in a nativity scene, and some people of German origin decorate the tree--”because when you put up the tree three or four weeks early, then there is no surprise on Christmas Eve,” Anaheim resident Hans Stumpf, 66, explained.

In some homes there is a blending of traditions. Orange resident Genevieve Barrios Southgate said her brother, Russ Barrios, is “married to a Boston-Irish gal, and I’m married to New Jersey-English descent. All of our children have two cultures. All four of them call themselves Mexican, but they are aware of their Yankee roots.”

It is that sort of mingling that leads some members of the Phoenix Club, a German-American organization in Anaheim, to eat goose or duckling for Christmas Eve dinner and other members to eat turkey, Stumpf said. But chances are they all will have sauerbraten. And most will have whole walnuts wrapped in paper dangling from their Christmas trees, and many will have a shot of the traditional German drink, jagermeister , before dinner. “It’s a good appetizer, you know.”

For some people, Christmas in Orange County is drastically different from “back home.” In Vietnam, where many people are Buddhists, the Christmas season does not include decorated streets, strings of colored lights outside houses or Andy Williams crooning carols on the radio.

Mai Cong, president of the nonprofit Vietnamese Community of Orange County Inc., said she has always celebrated Christmas because she is Catholic. But in Vietnam considerably fewer people celebrated the holiday than in the United States, so it was a private affair.

Christmas was “in your home or when you are in your church . . . but not in the streets, not like here.”

For the Cervantes family, Christmas Eve is very special. The six children take turns each year playing the part of Baby Jesus’ godfather, and are also responsible for dressing the baby and, sometimes, making its outfit, Cervantes said.

Then, on Dec. 24, the godfather, who this year was Carlos Cervantes, and the godmother, family friend Teri Magana, led family members and friends in song and prayer from Magana’s nearby home as they carried the toy representing Jesus to the Cervantes household, where the baby was placed in the manger.

“It’s a lovely tradition,” said Sister Armida Deck of the Diocese of Orange. When children leave the home, they are often given pieces of the nativity arrangement so they can begin their own.

“You give the child the baby Jesus so that he will have your blessing in his new home,” Maria Ofelia Cervantes explained.

Another Mexican tradition is the ritual of La Posada : Someone representing Mary and someone representing Joseph go from home to home seeking lodging. They are turned away until someone finally offers them posada, or lodging. The candlelight procession then ends with a celebration that usually includes hot chocolate and Mexican cookies.

“I love posada with the concept of immigrant people. Because Joseph and Mary were immigrant people,” Deck said. “So many of the Mexican and Central American people here also are looking for a place. It’s very symbolic. It’s not just a chance to eat candy.”

For all the differences in the ways Orange County residents celebrate Christmas, however, there is one concept that seems to bind them together--the idea that Christmas is a time for family.

“It’s really a family celebration,” said Anaheim resident Judith Morente Mas, 58, a native of Cuba who left her country in 1969.

And that’s why, for Mas, Christmas Eve was particularly hard. She prepared the traditional black beans and white rice. And she planned to spend the evening with her husband, Luis Pablo, son, Luis Oscar, and friends. But missing were the family members left behind in Cuba.

“That’s really hard for the Cubans. All the families have relatives in Cuba--communist or not communist. You don’t think about politics during this time,” Mas said.

“I try to be happy, but I’m not happy. I miss the meaning of the day.

“My mind is thinking of my family,” Mas said. “I called my cousin about two hours ago and said I need to talk to somebody from my family, from my blood. It’s a day for family.”