We’re not big Christmas fans. For my part, there’s the whole Jew thing. We never did Christmas when I was young, so I don’t have any childhood connection to its wonders. And Dorothy’s Christmas is Halloween. That’s her day to shine.

When our kids were young we did Christmas in the sense that we had a tree and gave presents, but it was a pretty pro forma exercise. We lit a menorah, too. Boxes checked.

As an adult, I’ve never found anything particularly attractive about the way that Christmas is executed in the US. It’s been stripped of its meaning as a celebration of faith and reduced to an iconographic visual and auditory playbook that’s pretty revolting in both its mediocrity and its ubiquity. The faux piety, which seems to be the only kind we ever exhibit, is pretty grating, and the rank commercialism is stomach churning. What’s to like?

Whenever possible we’ve fled the country over Christmas, to limit our exposure. We’ve had Christmas in Puerto Rico, twice in Guatemala, and this is our second Oaxaca Christmas. It’s been lovely, both on its own account and as an alternative to the US version.

What makes it different enough to matter? Well, length, for starters. In the other countries we’ve been to over Christmas, the season seems to last about a week to ten days, not the multi-month extravaganza of hype we enjoy in the US. That alone is enough to make a meaningful qualitative difference.

The audio landscape is also much less assaultive. You’ll hear traditional Christmas carols and seasonal WTF occasionally, in multiple languages, but it’s not the constant drumbeat we get in the US. Truthfully, the soundscape may be the single biggest reason I prefer to flee over Christmas. And for whatever reason, hearing Bing croon while enjoying the festivities at the Zócalo seems more charming than loathsome.

Of course, it’s still a shopping holiday, although it feels like it lacks the desperation that US retailers bring to the table. Nary a Black Friday or Cyber Monday to be found. Perhaps it’s that so many of the gifts on offer have been handcrafted rather than manufactured, but it just doesn’t feel as crass as the cranked up commercialization in the US.

There’s also the very specific feeling that Christmas is a religious holiday where we’ve visited, which happen to all have been heavily Catholic cultures. Every church has its own practices and its own fiestas, and maybe it’s as simple as that everyone here will take any excuse to party. But whether the joy is religious or secular, that joy is real and palpable. The Christmas Spirit in the US feels like dutiful obligation to me, not joy.

As an outsider, to both Mexico and Christmas, I consume the season on the street, not my home. Pop-up markets pop up anywhere there’s a spare few square feet, and offer access to artisans who don’t have the scale for their own shops. And the street decorations are just wonderful. They seem to spring from a genuine desire to delight, and not a competitive need to outspend your neighbor.

So here are the sights of Oaxaca at Christmas. Enjoy. We have.

Pop Up Markets

The Zócalo

The Street Scene

Post-Christmas WTF…

I’ll confess that neither Dorothy nor I could properly decode this parade. This occurred the evening of the 27th, and seemed to represent a sort of debauched abandon that doesn’t truly come across in the video, and wasn’t anything at all like the parades leading up to Christmas. One of the characters was clearly a devil, and there was much temptation and concupiscence on display. This was definitely earthier than the religious parades, if just as exuberant.

Regardless of our lack of understanding of its context, this was yet another demonstration of the city’s beautiful, quirky, joyful spirit.

If anyone knows anything about this ritual, please let us know in the comments.