Christmas In Panama
(costaricapages.com) Throughout Panama houses and businesses are being decorated for the upcoming holiday season. Families are stringing lights on their houses while businesses are putting up Christmas trees and menorahs. For tourists and expats currently in Panama from more northern countries, it can almost seem strange that the holidays are upon us.
Many expats and tourists who choose Panama as a destination this time of year are here to escape the snowy and cold winter of their home countries. Panama’s hot and humid weather is a far cry from snowbanks and ice storms commonly experienced during the holidays up north. For people that have spent a number of years in Panama, it’s quite easy to forget that Santa’s visit is just around the corner in this tropical country.
Panamanians tend to have their big Christmas celebration on the 24th of December. Families gather together to enjoy a huge meal with their loved ones. Usually the big party starts at midnight when fireworks erupt over every town in Panama. This is also the time of night when people load up their cars with a cooler full of Christmas cheer and drive around to visit other family members and friends.
My first Christmas in Panama I thought that tradition was a little odd. It felt like I was intruding on people while they were celebrating Christmas with their families. I wouldn’t necessarily want someone knocking on my door at 1am on Christmas Day! It turns out, you’re expected to do that in Panama. Many Panamanians are even insulted if you don’t stop by their house in the middle of the night for a huge plate of food and some drinks.
Many Panamanians have to work until midday on the 24th and normally they would go back to work on the 26th. Panama’s president has just announced that 26th will now be a public sector holiday, making yet another long weekend in Panama.
A warning for the die hard shoppers visiting Panama this time of year: The 26th of December which is known as Boxing Day in some countries, is not a day of huge sales in Panama, like it is in Canada for example. You are more likely to see the good deals before Christmas as opposed to the day after.
