"Its Beginning to Feel a lot Like Christmas!"

So, yeah, there are definetly some differences here in the holiday season. Here is just a list of things to indicate if you are having a Peruvian Christmas:

-10- Instead of people saying "it feels like Christmas" as it gets colder, here as the weather turns hotter, the people say "its beginning to feel like Christmas" (granted, in Castelleno/Spanish not in English)

-9- Instead of dreaming of a white Christmas, here in Arequipa people have told me that a good Christmas is one with rain. (Arequipa only gets rain during the months of December, January, & February, and this season starts at the end of December)

-8- Christmas is actually celebrated on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas Day.

-7- Instead of Egg Nog as a traditional Christmas drink, a type of hot chocolate with cinnamon and nutmeg is normal.

-6- In departments stores there are many Christmas decorations, but right next to them are swimsuits, beach towels, and beach gear to go to the beach.

-5- Speaking of which, instead of going snow skiing, hop on a bus and head for the beach, which is what a lot of families do here around Christmas.

-4- There isn´t an option for a hay ride with many people stuffed in the back of a truck with hay, however at any moment you have the freedom to get on a bus jam packed full of people with no regard or idea of what personal space is.

-3- Instead of sleigh bells, every other day you hear the obnoxiously loud "CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG" of the man collecting garbage. If you were not awake, you would be after that!

-2- Instead of carolers, everyday you hear different vendors walking around selling their products: like the fruit vendor, "¡PAPAYA, PIÑA, PLATANO, MANZANA, LIMON...!" or my favorite the shoestring sellsman who walks around with literally hundreds of shoestrings on him and shouts, "¡PASADORES!" : (I wouldn´t call any of it singing, because they only speak monotone using one note, but they DO go to many differenet neighborhoods, and often use a megaphone)

-1- And last but not least, Santa doesn´t have to worry about slipping off of the roof due to the angle or the ice (because the roofs here are flat and are far from icy). He has to worry about the bajillion dogs that live on the roofs and how to get past them on almost each roof to bring in the presents. Poor guy. I don´t see how he does it!!!