’twas the night before christmas

January 15, 2009 | Filed Under Children & Babies, Fine Art, Lifestyle PJ, Miscellaneous, Personal, Relationships 

Having been assured a White Christmas by the substantial snow accumulation, it was nice to have clear, sunny skies the day before, which we spent mostly in and around the plaza. That evening, we rested and regrouped at the condo before trekking to Canyon Road for the farolito walk, a Santa Fe Christmas Eve tradition.

The photo below right happened very quickly; I’d been looking through the viewfinder, and it took me a moment to process what happened. As soon as I realized my daughter (who was there a second before) accidentally sat on the bag, I rushed to make sure no one was hurt (and to put out the farolito)! Everyone was fine, if a little embarrassed. This was taken about the second I realized the bag was, indeed, on fire, and I know the focus is sad… but it still makes me laugh. I think it’s the expression on my son’s face- so calmly intrigued. “Hm. I don’t think it’s supposed to do that.”

In addition to the beautiful light displays, another special part of the tradition includes caroling (some spontaneous, some semi-organized) around bonfires along the way.

Foolishly, it had not occurred to us to make reservations for dinner on Christmas Eve, so we ended up having a hearty meal at a downtown bar. It was actually pretty good food, and at that point in the night we’d walked several miles in the cold, so it felt good just to be anywhere warm and off our feet before the mile and a half walk the rest of the way back to the condo. My son passed out about the minute we sat down to our table. My husband had to struggle to wake him and get him bundled up again and back in time to put out cookies and milk for Santa.

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