For Dominicans, Christmas is the great event of the year, and it is celebrated in style with traditions that result from the mixture of its African, Spanish and Taino roots, and some other traditions that have been influenced by of American culture.

In the Dominican Republic, since the beginning of the Winter Leagues in October, and the long-awaited “Christmas breeze” begins to be felt, everyone takes out their “Christmas trees” and the parties are officially inaugurated.

In the blog of Punta Cana Runaway we talk about the 5 most important Christmas traditions of the Dominican Republic:

The aguinaldos

One of the traditions that Dominicans enjoy the most are the Christmas Aguinaldo. It consists of a group of friends who go from house to house, at night, singing Christmas carols, with tamboras, accordion and güira, in order of waking someone up and all their neighbors. The tradition marks that when the Aguinaldo arrived at your house, they are given cookies, ginger tea, punch or beer.

The Chistmas dinner

On December 24 everyone goes to their hometown, to celebrate with their loved ones. Dinner is usually the most important of the holidays and consists of roast pork, moro or Christmas rice, pastel en hoja, pastelitos, glazed ham, Russian salad, telera bread and in some cases, they also serve turkey.

In the evening, everyone sits at the table to enjoy the dinner. Once the dinner it´s done they take out the rum and eggnog, wich is a typical Christmas sweet drink, made with eggs, condensed milk, spices, and rum. They also eat grapes, pears and apples, nougat and nuts.

After midnight, in many houses they prepare for the arrival of Santa Claus, which is called "Santacló" by the Dominicans. This bearded man arrives in his sleigh once everyone is asleep, leaving the presents under the Christmas tree. This tradition comes from the influence of the north america culture to which the Dominican Republic is exposed.

The “recalentao”

For Dominicans, any excuse is valid to get together and Christmas day is no exception. On December 25, it's time to get back together for the traditional “recalentao”. As the name implies, it is to reheat the dinner of the previous night, to eat it at noon, while sharing with the family, dancing and exchanging gifts.

The “Reyes” day

This Christian tradition inherited from the Spaniards is one of the favorite of Dominican children, in which Melchor Gaspar and Baltasar arrive at dawn from January 5 to 6 to bring gifts to children. This tradition commemorates the gifts that the Three Kings took to Baby Jesus.

The Old Lady Belén

The old lady Belén is a character that only exists in the Dominican Republic, which brings hope to many children who, for economic reasons, did not receive gifts on Christmas days. Unlike Santa Claus or the Three Kings, the Old Lady Belén does not have an exact date of arrival, although it is usually the Sunday following January 6.