Let the Parties Begin......

As with any culture... holidays mean special activities & of course, special foods!  Venezuela is no exception.  They pride themselves on their Christmas foods as every family from east to west eats pretty much the same thing!  Each family gets together especially on Christmas Eve.  They celebrate for hours & the night is topped off with fireworks!  The food of choice is called "hallacas."  Every family makes them a little different but in the end, they all taste very similar.  They are made of a certain type of corn flour & filled with various meats & veggies.  Then they are wrapped in banana leaves & boiled to cook them.  They are very popular but only at Christmas!!!!  Also a huge favorite is "Pan de Jamón."  This is basically a big bread roll filled with ham, raisins, & olives.  And finally no Venezuelan Christmas meal would be complete without "Ensalada Navideña."  This is potatoes, chicken, peas, & carrots mixed with mayonnaise to make a blend between chicken salad & potato salad. 

Our office Christmas party was no exception!  Below are a few pictures of our event & the foods we ate.  It is a neat experience to celebrate special holidays with a twist of Venezuelan culture.  Of course I was sure to provide Cherry Cream Cheese pie & chocolate fudge for my contribution to the meal!!!  No Christmas fiesta would be complete with out Cherry Cream Cheese pie in my house!  And Chris made a pork roast that he labored over last night covered with apples & all sorts of stuff!  He had a moment of feeling like Emeril! (ha ha)

Marlene & Miryect unwrapping the hallacas for lunch.

A close up of the hallacas & Miryect's hands.

Isaiah enjoying the hallacas.... he LOVES them!

Chris's pork covered in apples & various spices.

Ensalada Navideña

Pan de Jamón

Imanuel & Ian were thrilled with their treat bags of candy from the girls... especially the M&M's!

Chris sporting his new shirt & socks that will go nice with his birthday shoes! I got some very pretty jewelry but I was taking all of the pictures so no one gets to see it!  (I know...sadness!)