Christmas and New Year's with an entirely different spirit.

The waiter at our favorite restaurant in the Puerto Mercado told us that we didn’t want to be in the plaza there after about 3 pm on Christmas Eve because there would be a lot of craziness.  Being adventurous types we arranged to meet our new friends Chris and Molly at the restaurant at 2 pm.

Christmas Eve dawned hot and humid.  It is rare in Montevideo that there is little or no breeze but when there isn’t it becomes stifling in a hurry.  Walking up the street in the morning to do a little marketing and perhaps grab a café I was surprised by a bucketful of water tossed from the 6^th or 7^th story of an apartment building.  It soaked about half of me and I looked around in consternation.

On our way back to the apartment an hour later we were confronted by a girl about 6 years old with a bucket of water.  Shaking our heads at her we tried to get past but she soaked our backsides good saying “Feliz Navidad”.  It clicked for us then; this is some kind of tradition!

Back in the apartment we quickly changed into shorts and t-shirts that could get wet and emptied our pockets of everything we didn’t want wet (except our camera of course) and ventured back outside after arming ourselves with a plastic bottle of tap water.  We hadn’t traveled a block before being soaked by neighbors in the street and on their balconies and we gave the kids as good as we got.  It was five hilarious blocks to our meeting in the restaurant.

We couldn’t have chosen better.  The restaurant had hired a large man to keep the party goers from dousing the customers so we were able to eat without further dousing but we did have a front row seat to the party in the plaza. 

There were groups playing drums, Candombe is the national music and dance of Uruguayans and usually combines the sounds of three very different styles of drums.  It is based in the African heritage that is a strong cultural bond celebrated by this small country.  People were singing and dancing and everybody was being sprayed with water, cheap cider purchased on the street and even beer.

After eating we ventured into the plaza, again getting soaked, and purchased several bottles of cheap cider (about 35 pesos or $1.75per liter).  The drummers were moving on to a new location and we were invited to come along. 

People were pouring cider into each other’s mouths, drinking out of half pineapples and basically having a good time.  The new site was a narrow street with bars on both sides and the street was jam packed with partiers; a perfect site for pickpockets.

For sure, halfway through I felt a hand in my pocket which I slapped away.  Marilyn saw another attempt and smacked another.  No problems however, what little money I had was tucked away in a different place and we really didn’t have anything with us that we couldn’t afford to lose.  At the end of the evening we returned home, quite tipsy and full of a very different kind of holiday cheer. 

The next day, Christmas Day, we were informed that New Years Eve was even more crazy in the streets than Christmas Eve.  We also learned that the street festival and dousing was a tradition specific to the Ciudad Vieja (old city) where we were staying.  We were surprised at how many of the shops were open on Christmas Day even though it had been explained to us that Navidad wasn’t quite the important holiday Christmas seems to be for us Americans.  It seemed very little different than any other weekend day.

The new year fell on a Tuesday this year and we stepped out on Sunday the 30^th to a ghost town.  It is normal on weekends from time to time in Ciudad Vieja, for the streets to be empty.  This was different.  Shops, markets and cafes normally open at all times were closed.  Eventually we learned the reasons. 

Like in Spain, in Uruguay it is common to “hacer un puente” or make a bridge around the holidays.  In this case the bridge was beginning on Sunday and in most cases including Monday and Tuesday.  In Uruguay, New Year’s eve is a short workday or a holiday and New Year’s day is commonly a workday for those not on vacation.  The new year is also the beginning of the vacation season for Uruguayans which lasts through Carnaval at least.

Feliz Ano! The people shouted as they drenched anybody on the streets beginning the morning of New Year’s Eve.  Nobody was spared and one couldn’t walk a block without being completely soaked.  Amazingly, a midst all the water, everyone seemed to have a parilla (grill)going!

 The streets were raucous with screams and laughter and many restaurants were, surprisingly, open during the middle of the day almost all closing around 4 pm.  By 6 pm everybody had returned home to be with their families.

We joined our friends for dinner in their apartment at 9 pm and had an enjoyable evening.  At midnight we climbed to the terrace of their 7 story building and were simply amazed.  The entire horizon was a fireworks show and this went on for more than 20 minutes!  We toasted the new year with champagne and returned home to sleep having experienced a very different and incredible way to celebrate the holiday season.