Christmas in Curaçao

This is our third Christmas since we moved aboard Sava, and again we are in a new location, this time the biggest of the ABC islands, Curaçao. As an island with rich history and many cultural influences, of course it’s an interesting place to spend the holiday season! Curaçao got into the Christmas spirit early, with stores displaying holiday cheer in October, and early celebrations at the beginning of December. As we are enjoying Christmas in Curaçao and all the decorations that come with it, I thought I’d share some stories and photos of what the celebrations are like in the Leeward Antilles.

Interested in Christmas in other places? Read about spending Christmas in the Caribbean , Panama and in Florida

Christmas in Curaçao Starts Early

The decorations have been up since Halloween but that’s not even what I am talking about. One of the holidays has already happened.

St. Nicholas Day is the traditional day for presents from Santa and people get excited! Men dress in colorful costumes, paint their faces and jump into cars and drive around yelling out the windows and honking. At least that’s what we’ve seen. So many of them get into one car it’s like a clown car, more noticeable in the days of social distancing.

St Nicholas costumes
St Nicholas celebrations
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Christmas in the Caribbean

Are you a Christmas fanatic who shops all year round for decorations and gifts or more of a Scrooge? If you are the first, then visit the Caribbean anytime after October. Christmas in the Caribbean starts early: all the malls in St. Lucia were decorated and Christmas carols blasted from the speakers when we were there in November.

Since readers liked last year’s photo blog from Florida, here’s one from the Caribbean, mostly Martinique, where Santa and other holiday decor is the norm. The majority of the festive ornamentation is traditional and (fake) evergreen and wreaths abound, but I prefer the original and surprising celebrations, like the relaxed Santa in the display in Sainte Anne, Martinique.

Caribbean Christmas display
Christmas display in Sainte Anne
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New Year’s Eve in Munich

Munich is a wonderful place to spend New Year’s Eve, or Silvester, as they call it here, named after a Pope no less. We had a really fun and entertaining night out in this city. If you’re looking for a great European city to celebrate New Year’s, don’t miss New Year’s Eve in Munich!

Fireworks

Fireworks at Tollwood New Year's Eve in Munich
Early Fireworks at Tollwood NYE – way before the fog set in

They love their fireworks here! Apparently, they are readily available for sale, which is why we started hearing them going off before sunset and all the time after. This also explains the debris in every street into New Year’s Day of firework remnants. The unfortunate thing was, the city was shrouded in fog before 12 midnight so it was pretty impossible to see any of the fireworks, no matter how near.

Tollwood: The Place for New Year’s Eve in Munich

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