Christmas in
Venezuela
Celebrated: December 16-24 (Misas de Aguinaldo) and December 24 (Nochebuena)
Signature traditions
- 1.Roller-skating to early-morning mass — a Caracas tradition where city streets close to traffic before 8 AM so the faithful can skate to the Misas de Aguinaldo between December 16 and 24
- 2.Making hallacas as a multi-generational family assembly line over several days — each relative is assigned a station: filling the dough, spooning the stew, folding the plantain leaves, tying the strings
- 3.'Gaitas zulianas' — the Christmas music of Venezuela, originally from Zulia state, played everywhere from grocery stores to family gatherings from late November onward
- 4.'Parrandas' — neighborhood caroling groups that travel house to house with traditional instruments (cuatro, maracas, furruco, tambora) and stay for a drink and a plate at each stop
- 5.Children sleep with their shoes near the bed on the night of January 5 so the Three Kings can leave gifts inside them on the morning of January 6 (Día de los Reyes)
What's on the table
Hallacas and pan de jamón
The Christmas table centers on hallacas — corn dough filled with a slow-cooked stew of beef, pork, and chicken plus olives, raisins, and capers, all wrapped in plantain leaves and boiled. Alongside: pan de jamón (a sweet bread spiral filled with ham, olives, and raisins), ensalada de gallina (creamy chicken-and-potato salad), and dulce de lechosa (green papaya simmered in spiced sugar syrup) for dessert.
The iconic decoration
Nacimientos and the Niño Jesús
Elaborate nacimientos (nativity scenes) are the heart of Venezuelan Christmas decoration, often expanding to fill an entire room and built up year after year with new figurines, moss landscaping, miniature villages, and tiny twinkling lights. Trees are popular too, especially in urban homes, but the nacimiento came first and remains spiritually central. The figure of the baby Jesus is placed in the manger only at midnight on Christmas Eve.
How gifts are given
El Niño Jesús (the baby Jesus) traditionally brings gifts at midnight on Nochebuena, with families opening them immediately after the Christmas Eve dinner. Santa Claus has become increasingly common in urban Venezuelan homes through American cultural influence. A second round of gifts arrives from the Three Kings on January 6.
But who delivers yours?
There are eight cultural Christmas gift-givers around the world — Santa Claus, La Befana, the Yule Lads, Ded Moroz, Sinterklaas, the Three Kings, Christkind, and Joulupukki. Take the 6-question quiz to find out which one matches you.
Take the gift-giver quizDid you know?
In Caracas, residents historically roller-skate through the empty pre-dawn streets to the Misas de Aguinaldo, the Catholic masses held at dawn between December 16 and 24. The city government closes major streets to vehicle traffic before 8 AM so the skaters can glide through safely. The tradition says children would tie a long piece of string to their big toe and dangle it out the bedroom window overnight so passing skaters could tug it as a wake-up call.
