On the Eve of Twelfth Night

Christmas in Puerto Rico, from World Book, Inc.

Well, this is it. With this volume, I've finished my collection of World Book's "Christmas Around the World" books, started way back when I came upon at least a dozen of them at the Cobb County Library Sale (and found most of them there later. This one, however, came via online.

It's a colorful volume packed with all the unique celebrations that come from Puerto Rico's mixed heritage of Native forebears, Spanish explorers, and being a commonwealth of the United States, so that Christmas trees, snowmen, and Santa cavort in the tropical sun along with poinsettias, palm trees, and cactus decorated with colored lights, not to mention roosters for the one who supposedly crowed at midnight when Jesus was born. Special foods, like lechon (roast pork) and pasteles, are served, music is heard everywhere played on the unique 10-stringed guitar and unique Puerto Rican carolers fill the streets.

There are pull-outs about Jose Feliciano and "Feliz Navidad," a portrait of a "santero," a carver of saints, and others, and a big section on the big celebration in the country, Three Kings Day on January 6, the feast of the Epiphany.