A Year in Uruguay

Christmas eve, or Nochebuena, is the main event of the holiday season in Uruguay. Families and friends get together for big dinners late in the evening. Kids can open their gifts after midnight. (If they open them early, the presents turn to ashes!) The shopping malls were open late the night before, for last-minute shopping. Punta Carretas Shopping was still crowded when we left at 1:00 in the morning.

update: At midnight on Christmas eve, it seemed like everyone in Montevideo set off fireworks. We went out to the street to watch and then went back to eat our dinner. We ate a delicious lechón. Firecrackers continued to explode throughout the night and groups of young people were still drinking on the Rambla at 8 the next morning.

Labels: customs, holidays, Uruguay