11 Neat Colombian Christmas Traditions

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Ah, Christmas in Colombia!

Christmas is a time full of special traditions and fun in many places in the world, and Colombian Christmas is no exception.

While there’s not really anywhere in Colombia where you’ll find snowmen or winter wonderlands, there are still plenty of fun Christmas traditions in Colombia!

After living in Colombia for over a decade, I got to experience many of the neatest Colombian Christmas traditions.

So, if you’re wondering how does Colombia celebrate Christmas or how is Christmas celebrated in Colombia, read on to learn about some of the most fascinating Christmas traditions in Colombia!

My Experience of Colombian Christmas Traditions

I lived in the Caribbean heat of Cartagena for over a decade, and well, the weather never felt much like Christmas. Not at all

In all my time living in Colombia and Cartagena, people were always excited for Christmas.

Decorations went up.

The same handful of songs started blasted on repeat on the radio in taxis and speakers around the barrios.

So, even with beach weather, it still always seemed to still feel like Christmas as the end of the year approached, Christmas in Colombia is definitely a big deal!

Beyond the favorite songs, there are some really interesting Colombian Christmas traditions too.

Like in most countries, there are some tasty Colombian Christmas foods and some unique Colombian Christmas desserts. There are also a few pretty quirky Christmas traditions in Colombia, like the Dia de los Inocentes Colombian tradition of pranks.

I always found some of the differences between how Christmas is celebrated in Colombia and the US or other countries pretty interesting, although there are plenty of similarities too. Being married to a Colombian, there are a handful of Colombian Christmas traditions that are now firmly my own now too.

Traveling During Christmas Time in Colombia?

Below, I’ll be sharing what I consider to be the 11 most interesting Colombian Christmas traditions.

Before I get to that, I just want to share one quick piece of advice if you happen to be planning on traveling to spend Christmas in Colombia.

Christmas time in Colombia, like much of the rest of the world, is one of the busiest tourist seasons. Cartagena especially gets crowded. So, it’s good to make your reservations early!

To help with that, you can check out my guide to the best areas to stay in Cartagena or my picks for the best boutique hotels, best luxury hotels, best beachfront hotels, or best hostels and knock those reservations out early.

If you’re traveling elsewhere in Colombia, you might also want to check out my guide to the best areas to stay in Bogotá, and all the other destinations I cover in the Other Destinations section of the site.

11 Most Fascinating Christmas in Colombia Traditions

Ok, let’s get into these 11 most interesting Colombian Christmas traditions.

Of course, every family is different and may or may not adhere to all of them.

Also, some Colombian Christmas traditions are bigger deals in some cities than others.

I did include one Colombian Christmas tradition that only applies to Medellín, since it’s one of the country’s biggest events associated with this time of year (although its origin actually has nothing to do with Christmas), so I felt it deserved to be here.

However, the rest of these Christmas traditions are celebrated all around Colombia.

1. Día de las Velitas

One of the neatest Colombian Christmas traditions is the lighting of candles on the night of December 7, known as the Día de Velitas, or literally, the Day of Little Candles.

This celebration is related to the Catholic celebration of the Immaculate Conception of Mary on December 8. You can learn more about its history in this post on the history of Little Candles Day.

People light candles and lanterns on their balconies, in their windowsills, and on the sidewalks.

This Colombian Christmas tradition is considered the official kickoff of the Colombia Christmas season in most of the country.

In Cartagena, it’s most common for people to light the candles at midnight and make wishes. However, the most popular time to light them varies from city to city.

It’s one of my personal favorite Christmas traditions of Colombia. Susana also loves this tradition, and she always makes sure to light her candles, even now that we live in the US. It will be neat to carry on this Colombian Christmas tradition with our daughter one day!

It’s also an easy tradition to participate in yourself! In the days leading up to December 7, there are usually lots of street vendors selling cheap candles.

So, if you happen to be in Colombia for December 7, be sure to grab some and light them that evening!

2. Christmas in Medellín Starts with the Alborada

Medellín kicks off its Christmas season a bit earlier.

The Alborada, a week before Día de las Velitas, is usually considered the start of the Christmas season in Medellín.

According to this great article from Medellínliving.com, this unique Colombian Christmas tradition dates to the demobilization of a paramilitary group that operated in Medellín in 2003.

To celebrate their demobilization, they gave out fireworks to residents of the barrios they controlled to be fired off on November 30, a few days after their official demobilization.

Over time, it became an annual tradition, was adopted by more and more barrios, and has basically become a city wide event that is not really connected to the paramilitaries at all but just seen as the start of the Christmas season.

My understanding is it’s quite the event and sight, especially if you get a good vantage point in one of the areas a bit higher up in the hills and mountains on the outskirts of the city.

From 11 pm to around 2 or 3 am, you should see lots of fireworks all over the city. So, expect to hear fireworks all night if you are in Medellín this time of year.

3. Celebrating las Novenas

Las Novenas, or Novenas de Aguinaldo, is a Christmas tradition in Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. It is very similar to a tradition known as Las Posadas in Mexico.

It dates to the 1700s when a Catholic friar began saying a series of prayers for the 9 days leading up to Christmas Eve from December 16 to December 24.

For each day, there is an accompanying reading that tells the Biblical history of the period leading up to Jesus’s birth. Many of the prayers also include parts that are commonly sung. Or at least, that’s been my experience seeing people celebrate this Colombia Christmas tradition.

It’s common for Colombians to do the novenas with extended family, church groups, or friend groups. Often a different person hosts each day with a small get together with food, snacks, (like those in #6 below) or even drinks.

I remember a few years where Susana and her friends organized a group celebration of this Colombian Christmas tradition and they would take turns hosting. They would serve snacks, read the prayers, sing the songs, and have a glass of wine or two.

My experience seeing them and others celebrate this tradition is that for the very religious, this is a really big deal.

However, for the more nominal religious, which is still most Colombians, it is as much about socializing and keeping a cherished childhood memory and beloved Colombian Christmas tradition alive.

4. Colombia’s Christmas Lights and Decorations

Of course, this isn’t so much a Colombian Christmas tradition, but a Christmas tradition, period.

I would say based on my experience, individual people don’t get quite as hardcore as some people in the US or elsewhere about putting up tons of lights for Christmas in Colombia on their own homes. Although, you usually do see a handful of neat displays.

However, most cities in Colombia will have lots of pretty public Christmas lights and decorations. Even small towns often put up elaborate light displays, nativity scenes, and other decorations in their main plazas.

When I was living in Cartagena, the lights were usually lit around the first weekend of December, sometimes in conjunction with the Noche de Velitas on December 7th, or sometimes a few days before.

They usually stayed lit at least through Three Kings Day on January 6.

My understanding is that time frame is pretty common throughout Colombia.

So, even if you’re not going to be in Colombia for Christmas day itself, if you’re traveling to Colombia in December, there’s a good chance you’ll get to see some Christmas decorations.

There is usually a good mix of more traditionally, wintery, I’m assuming US inspired, decorations like Christmas trees, snowflakes, and ornaments, but also some neat and more unique displays.

In Cartagena, I’ve seen elaborate sailing ships, neat tunnels of light, and, one year, a slightly odd Avianca airplane display.

We always really enjoyed spending time walking around town and seeing all the lights at Christmas time, even when we ended up traveling elsewhere for the holidays.

Also, I always loved when they hung lights along Cartagena’s historic walls, and the clocktower lit up is always really pretty too. Also, you’d be surprised how neat palm trees look with Christmas lights!

Medellín is especially well known for elaborate light displays along the river. We were there around Christmas time one year were definitely impressed. There were lots of street food and drink vendors set up and it was a neat atmosphere. They are definitely well worth seeing if you will be passing through Medellín in December. There are also pretty lights usually at Pueblito Paisa.

Monserrate also has very neat light displays if you are in Bogotá for Christmas time. We were there once around Christmas time but only went up during the day. I imagine it’s really neat seeing them lit up at night though.

5. Christmas Food in Colombia Part 1: Colombian Christmas Eve Meal

Unlike my home country of the US where Christmas Day itself is usually the most important family celebration and feast day, the night of December 24 is the main celebration of Christmas in Colombia and when most will have big family get togethers and share a meal.

It’s common to have a meal, and many people also go out and party (or just party with family at their house!).

If you happen to be traveling in Colombia during Christmas time, many restaurants do a special meal for Christmas Eve. You often have to buy tickets or make reservations ahead of time to get a spot at popular places, so you might want to check on that ahead of time.

If you happen to be in Cartagena, you might want to check what places on my list of best restaurants to try in Cartagena offer the traditional Colombian Christmas Eve Dinner.

Pernil de Cerdo, technically meant to be pork leg but often made with pork shoulder, is the most common meat served for Christmas dinner in Colombia. You may also see pork loin, beef roasts, or occasionally, turkey.

Usually, the meat for Christmas dinner in Colombia is served with a sauce and rice with raisins. In Cartagena, it is usually coconut rice. I have also seen rice with spinach and just regular white rice offered at Christmas dinners too.

While usually not eaten for Christmas Eve, another traditional Colombian Christmas food is tamals, called pastels in Cartagena.

Each region has its own slightly different variation of this mix of meat, vegetables, corn meal, and in some places rice, steamed in plantain leaves.

I would say they are not quite as a big a deal or Christmas traditional food in Colombia as the very similar hallaca is in Venezuela, but it’s still common to see this classic comfort food prepared more often around the holidays.

I always saw lots of tiendas and street vendors, and even some restaurants selling them around this time of year, and there’s actually even a festival in Cartagena devoted to the pastel held some years in the week leading up to Christmas.

6. Colombian Christmas Food Part 2: Buñuelos and Natilla

Besides that common Christmas dinner, the two other most iconic Christmas in Colombia foods are buñuelos and natilla.

Buñuelos are small fried corn meal and cheese fritters in the shape of balls.

These are slightly different from buñuelos you might find in Mexico or other Spanish speaking countries which are a bit more like donuts.

In Colombia, they sort of resemble giant donut holes, but they are more savory and salty with just a hint of sweetness.

They are a popular breakfast on the go or morning snack throughout the year, but they are often enjoyed as an evening snack or even dessert at family and friend get togethers at Christmas time around Colombia.

They are notoriously difficult to fry correctly and get them to hold their form. That’s because you have to get the temperature of the oil just right so that they don’t fall apart but also don’t burn.

The best ones are golden brown and almost crunchy on the outside while being soft and fluffy on the inside.

Natilla is also very common as a sweet snack or Christmas dessert in Colombia.

Thickened with cornstarch, this Colombian Christmas dessert is a custard.

However, in my experience, the consistency can vary from being quite runny, almost like pudding, to thicker and light almost like a gelatin, to being more firm and sliceable like a flan.

In fact, natilla reminds me a lot of sort of a lighter, less mushy and grainy flan (natilla in some other countries is made with egg but not in Colombia, by the way).

It sometimes has coconut, raisins, or nuts and pretty much always has cinnamon and is sweetened with the unrefined brown sugar cane known as panela.

It’s a favorite treat, and will usually be dessert at Christmas dinners at restaurants or at family gatherings for Christmas in Colombia.

7. Who Brings Gifts to the Good Children in Colombia on Christmas?

You might be asking yourself, do they believe in Santa Claus in Colombia or who brings gifts to the good children in Colombia on Christmas.

Santa Claus has become more common in Colombia due to the influence of the US on global pop culture with Colombia being no exception. So, some Colombian children might believe in Santa Claus.

However, traditionally gifts to children in Colombia come from the Niño Jesus, or Baby Jesus, sometimes also called Niño Dios.

Most Colombian families keep this unique Colombian tradition for Christmas alive rather than saying gifts come from Santa Claus, and children will write letters to Niño Jesus for the gifts they want to get similar to how we would write them to Santa when we were kids.

Basically, Niño Jesus is the Colombian Santa Claus.

It will be interesting to see if Santa becomes more popular over time though or if most Colombian children (or maybe more importantly, their parents) keep this traditional Colombian Christmas tradition of presents from Niño Jesus alive.

8. When and Where Do Children Find Their Christmas Gifts in Colombia?

If you’re wondering where do children find their Christmas gifts in Colombia, the answer is usually under the tree, similar to where we always had our presents in the US.

However, the answer to when children receive their Christmas gifts in Colombia might surprise you.

Christmas gifts are usually given to children in Colombia the night of December 24 rather than the morning of the 25th. They usually get to open their presents just after midnight, although that might depend on the age of the kids.

So, Colombian kids get to open presents on Christmas Eve and don’t have to anxiously await parents waking up on to get their presnts on Christmas morning!

9. More Gifts on Three Kings Day

Usually seen as the end of the Christmas season in Colombia and much of the rest of the world, Three Kings Day, known as Día de los 3 Reyes or Día de los Reyes Magos in Spanish, is on January 6.

While not every family follows this Colombian Christmas tradition today, it is still pretty common for children to receive additional gifts on Three Kings Day.

Not a bad deal for the little ones at all if you ask me!

The first Monday after January 6 is also always a holiday in Colombia in honor of this traditional Catholic holiday (so, not a bad deal for the adults either!).

With this day being seen as the end of the Christmas season, decorations will usually start to come down after January 6 too, although many cities and towns will leave them up through the Monday holiday.

10. Día de los Inocentes: Colombian Tradition of Pranks

The Día de los Inocentes Christmas tradition of pranks is, in my opinion, the funniest and quirkiest of all the Colombian Christmas traditions.

During this Colombia Christmas tradition, pranks are played on friends and family! It is basically April Fools Day in December.

The Día de los Inocentes Colombian tradition is celebrated on December 28. It’s actually a common celebration in much of Latin America, although not everyone in Colombia takes part.

This history behind this holiday is actually quite dark.

It comes from a Biblical legend in the Gospel of Matthew known as the Massacre of the Innocents, and alleges the Roman appointed King Herod of Judea ordered male children in Bethlehem to be executed after he heard of the birth of Jesus as King of the Jews.

As early as the 5th century it became a Christian feast day, known in English as the Feast of the Holy Innocents or Childermas, and the church considers the children to be the first Christian martyrs.

It’s not entirely clear where the tradition of carrying out pranks, or bromas in Spanish, came from, but it remains common in Spain and Latin America, including Colombia today.

In the city of Pasto in Western Colombia, it is considered the official kickoff of the Carnival de Blancos y Negros (which we had a really fun time at when we went, by the way).

Traditionally, it was common for people to throw water on each other, but in recent years that has been discouraged to save water.

I have to be honest, the Día de Inocentes Colombian tradition never seemed like a big deal in Cartagena. I heard mention of it, but never saw a lot of people actually playing pranks on each other. Fortunately, I never had a prank played on me either.

So, it seems like it’s a bigger deal in some places like Pasto than others. I’d imagine it might be a bigger thing in small towns, or even just that some families keep in it alive more than others.

Still, it’s not a bad idea to be on the lookout for this Colombian Christmas tradition of pranks and practical jokes!

11. Aguinaldos Christmas Bonus

The Aguinaldos are a sort of extra monetary gift, tip, or bonus given to workers in Colombia.

Interestingly, the Aguinaldos is a legal requirement in Mexico, where businesses have to pay their employees Aguinaldos.

In Colombia, there is a thing called a prima that is a mandatory extra monthly paycheck split into two payments annually at the middle and end of the year that basically functions like the Aguinaldo in Mexico.

Some businesses may formally give another bonus and call it an Aguinaldo or Christmas bonus. However, in my experience the Aguinaldo in Colombia more commonly sort of an optional thing given to service workers.

For example, in one apartment building I lived in, there was always a box where residents could donate what they wanted towards the Aguinaldos. The donations were then split up evenly between the front desk and maintenance staff. The box was usually put out a in early December, and the porteros made sure to remind you of it.

One of the private schools I worked at as a teacher always had each class give the maintenance, cleaning, and kitchen staff big anchetas, or gift baskets. Well, really, it was mostly basic food stuffs in a giant trash can. I always found that a bit odd and sort of patronizing, but it’s quite common.

So, this Colombian Christmastime tradition is probably more important for expat residents than tourists in Colombia, but you might see a collection box at hotels, restaurants, or front desks in the building if you’re staying at a rental apartment. While you should not feel obligated to give, if you are so inclined, I’m sure the workers would appreciate it.

By the way if you do live in Colombia and employ a maid or cook regularly, it is generally expected and in many cases legally required that you do give them a prima.

And, well, if you live in an apartment building, the porteros will most assredly make sure you know where the Aguinaldos box is and give you a few reminders in the weeks leading up to Christmas!

Don’t Forget to Be Merry!

If there’s one thing I’ve learned after a decade living in Colombia, it is that Colombians love to have a good time!

And the merriest time of year, Christmas time, is no exception.

Like I mentioned above, the Alborada, the Noche de Velitas, and Christmas Eve are all big days for both family celebrations and going out on the town.

Expect there to be lively atmospheres those nights and people to be celebrating into the wee hours of the morning, usually with a hearty dose of aguardiente.

So even if you don’t take part in any of these Colombian Christmas traditions directly, be sure to enjoy yourself if you spend Christmas in Colombia!

If you’ll be in Colombia for Christmas or around the holiday season, be sure to check out this post on the most interesting New Years traditions in Colombia too!

Oh and do have a great time!

Cheers and Merry Exploring!

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If you like fun traditions, you might also love seeing some of Colombia’s small towns, many of rich have a rich and fascinating cultural heritage. Some of my favorites are the charming Villa de Leyva, which we visited one Christmas and saw the neat decorations they put up, Barichara, often cited as Colombia’s prettiest small town, and Mompox, a colonial gem that isn’t visited all that often. Please, do also check out all the other content on the site about Cartagena as well as the Other Destinations section for more places to visit in Colombia!