JOY TO THE WORLD Discover the Christmas spirit and goodwill from around the world
Four ambassadors invite Indonesia Tatler to discover Christmas traditions and cultures in their home countries around the globe
¡Feliz Navidad!
Madame Paz Cabrera de Valencia, the wife of the Colombian Ambassador to Indonesia, HE Juan Camilo Valencia González, greeted Indonesia Tatler warmly as we walked into their residence. Their dining room was already decorated with Christmas trees and ornaments right down to a dainty diorama of the Nativity scene in the town of Bethlehem, which they set up themselves.
As HE Juan joined us in the dining room, the amiable couple invited us to first try some traditional Colombian Christmas dishes before we conducted the interview. Among the spread were corn-based Colombian tamales with chicken, potatoes, and vegetable fillings wrapped in banana leaves, the fried dough buñuelos with cheese, sweet treats like rice pudding and the Colombian custard natilla, and Colombian hot chocolate with chunks of mozzarella cheese.
“You put mozzarella cheese in the hot chocolate, let it sit for a few minutes for it to melt, and then you drink it and scoop up the cheese with a teaspoon,” HE Juan said as he showed us how Colombians drink their hot chocolate. Christmas is a very important day for Colombians as 97.4 per cent of the population are Catholic. As a matter of fact, Colombians celebrate the season for the whole month of December.
“For us, Christmas is not just about the festivity—it’s also a religious event; it’s the birthday of Our Lord Jesus Christ. For nine days before Christmas, we say novena prayers with a different prayer each day, and then we go to Mass on Christmas Eve at midnight,” His Excellency noted. Furthermore, HE Juan also told us how he and his wife celebrated Christmas back in Colombia.“my wife’s family lives in Bogota, while mine lives in Medellín. So we would have breakfast with her family in Bogota first and then we’d fly to Medellín to have lunch with my family,” he said.
When asked what Christmas personally means to them, Madame Paz answered: “Christmas reminds us a lot about our childhoods, and it also reminds me of presents. It’s a time to travel to be with your loved ones, and also a time to thank God that we are together as a family to enjoy the moment.”