Christmas Through Immigrants’ Eyes

As people rush to trim the Christmas tree, wrap the presents, decorate the house and prepare the eggnogg, it’s easy to forget that the holidays can be a strange but fascinating time for immigrants adjusting to a different world.

Some did not celebrate Christmas in their homeland. Others have their own traditions they weave into their new life.

Whether or not they like it, the whirl of holiday madness surrounds them. Some get swept up in the celebration. Others are coping with their first Christmas without friends and family to share the holiday.

Several immigrants spoke with DEBORAH BELGUM about their first Christmas in the United States and how the holiday differs from their own celebrations in their native countries.

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SUSANA BROWN

Long Beach; moved from Guatemala nearly 30 years ago

My first Christmas was spent in El Paso, Texas, where I worked as a baby sitter. We had snow that year, which I had never seen before. I was so excited. But it was cold too.

I went to church with the family I baby-sat for on Christmas Day and then we went to their relatives’ house for ham.

Christmas here is different from Christmas in Guatemala. We eat tamales instead of ham or turkey. We don’t have Christmas trees, but we have Nativity scenes.

Also, our main celebration is on Dec. 24. Nobody sleeps that night. We wait up until midnight and go to a Mass called “Misa de Gallo,” or the Mass when the rooster crows. On Dec. 25, nobody is any good because they have been drinking a lot.

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EDUARDO GOMEZ

Wilmington; moved to the U.S. from Mexico 10 years ago

I spent my first American Christmas with acquaintances, but it was very, very sad because we didn’t really know each other that well.

It was mostly men. So we made some food--traditional tamales, thick hot chocolate, cookies--and exchanged gifts. That was it.

I felt sad because in Mexico it is traditional for people to be with each other, to be united and have family around. There is more human warmth in Mexico than here.

But during this time of the year, a lot of depression comes around. And the customs are different.

I find that in Mexico, people know each other better and help each other. Here, you can live on the same street for three or four years and you don’t even know your neighbor. Of course, a lot of that is because it is a large country where there are a lot of good people and a lot of bad people.

But in Mexico, every family on a block knows each other. On Christmas Eve, we’d get together to play the guitar and sing. We’d have some dancing, make cinnamon tea and then go to midnight Mass.

Now I have more family here and I am married. This year we are going to have a typical tamale dinner. A mariachi will play for two or three hours. We’ll have some dancing and then go to midnight Mass. All this gives you harmony in your life.

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RENA BO

Long Beach; moved to the U.S. from Cambodia in 1981 when she was 14

I had heard about Christmas in Cambodia, but we didn’t really celebrate it. I was very excited that first Noel. My family was living in Chicago, sponsored by a Lutheran church.

There were lots of decorations at school. I was really surprised because I had never seen so many decorations.

I even thought Santa Claus was real. My sponsor told us about how Santa comes down the chimney and where he lives. I believed he really did come from the North Pole.

Our sponsor took us to see the decorations in downtown Chicago, and oh, it was so beautiful. We were taken to church and told the story of Mary and Joseph and how the baby was born and then we did a gift exchange. I still remember that first gift. It was a small German doll with braids.

I still like Christmas. About four years ago, we started our own Christmas tradition at home for my two children, who are 5 and 19 months. I have a Christmas tree because my kids were born here and they have grown up here.

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MAYNOR GARCIA

Los Angeles; arrived in U.S. 10 years ago from El Salvador

I arrived in the U.S. on Nov. 28, 1988. I was dropped off at MacArthur Park. I didn’t know anybody.

A man from El Salvador let me live with him for six months and got me work. But that first Christmas was sad, too sad. I didn’t have any family or friends here.

I sat around and remembered all the Christmases I had spent in El Salvador. I was depressed and wanted to return. But then I remembered the great effort I made to come here, working construction in Guatemala and Mexico for months to make money to cross the border.

Most of the people I was living with then were men. We went to the supermarket to get some chicken, pork and lettuce to prepare the simplest thing we could: sandwiches. Then the man who had taken me in began to feel nostalgic and told me how he got to the United States. It was very much the same way I did.

Things are better now. I have my two brothers here and friends. This year we’re going to have some food and some music. We have a Christmas tree and have wrapped gifts for all our family, even though they are not here. We will send them to them later.