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Colombia is a country in northwestern South America and it’s surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Its national capital is Bogotá, which is located on a high plateau in the Andes Mountains. The official language of this country is Castilian Spanish with an additional 180 smaller languages and dialects present. Though they do not have an official religion, Roman Catholicism is very important in Colombian culture due to their concordat with the Vatican and they are even referred to as the most Roman Catholic of all the South American countries. Colombia prides itself on history and tradition and is known for proudly reflecting its history as a colony of Spain. The population itself is heavily mestizo (mixed European and indigenous decent) with minorities of European and African ancestry.

Economic life in Colombia is lead by their specialty in coffee production, bringing premium world market prices and constituting half of all legal exports. Agriculture is a major economic component and along with coffee production is the illegal cultivation of coca (base ingredient for cocaine) bringing in large market revenue. Modern economy is based with exploitation of hydrocarbon fuels and several metals. Also, the manufacture of goods for export and home consumption plays a large role in Colombia's economic success. Animal life is another prosperous part of Colombia as animals on the Pacific Coastal regions have supported an export trade to North American and European zoos. Colombia is known for its wild range of exotic plants that are able to grow due to Colombia's complex climate, soil, and topography patterns.

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Colombia is among one of the countries that celebrates the MOST holidays throughout the year with a total of 18 holidays. Additionally, the city of Barranquilla separately celebrates 2 holidays; Monday of Carnival and Tuesday of Carnival. However, the overall ceremony of these holidays is actually combined and called Carnival of Barranquilla. Both fall 48 or 47 days before Easter Sunday or 1 or 2 days before Ash Wednesday. The origins of this carnival holiday stem from pagan ceremonies, catholic beliefs, and ethnic diversity. At first it was actually a holiday for slaves that can be dated back to ties between traditions brought over into the Americas by the Spanish and Portuguese. It eventually grew to become what is today, which is a huge celebration of this region, carnival style.

Of these 18 public holidays, some of the most prominent ones are Carnaval del Diablo, Carnaval de Negros y Blancos, Santa Semanta, Bogotá International Book Fair, Festival of the Flowers, Day of the Candles, and of course, Christmas. Carnivals are clearly a major focus and component in Colombian culture and celebration and pretty much every town has some sort of Carnaval every year. The origins of these holidays stem from indigenous pagan and Catholic beliefs, indigenous ties from Andean and Hispanic traditions and African cultural influences, religious history, cultural gathering, honoring of Colombia's successful floral industry, and honoring of Catholic traditions and history. Colombia celebrates their holidays in large gatherings because being connected and involved in one's community is a great deal in Colombian culture.

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Traditions and the Flavor of the holidays

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Traditions and the Flavor of the holidays

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Popular traditions in Colombia are celebrated and expressed through manners/customs, music, legends, and food. Christmas alone has many traditions followed by the people of Colombia, including the Alboradas (firework displays), Aguinaldos (games played during the 9 nights leading up to Christmas), praying the Novena, lighting of Christmas lights, attending mass, and creating nativity scenes. Day of the Candles is actually also a Christmas tradition in Colombia, along with several other smaller holidays. Colombian Christmas Dinner, or, "Noche Buena" is a fun and delicious gathering that is quintessential to Christmas celebrations. This dinner is typically held on Christmas Eve among families. At this dinner, the dishes you should expect to see are natilla (a popular cherished Christmas custard), buñuelos, roast pork filled with peas, arepas, soup made with chicken, potatoes and corn, canelazo, sabajon (sweet rum drink), and varieties of seafood.

The Bogotá International Book Fair is an interesting event and is actually one of Latin America's most significant cultural gatherings (iExplore p.5). Each year the event features talks, workshops, concerts, exhibitions, food, drinks and a children’s program (iExplore). For many holidays, it’s common for townspeople to have friendly competition doing things like building displays and games. This is another way for the community to come together and become connected to one another while having a fun time.

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Colombia is a culturally rich and diverse country. Its traditions and holidays are what make this country unique and give it such a connected community. I found it interesting that almost every holiday is celebrated with a carnival and fiesta in the streets. This country has a lot to offer and visiting it is definitely on my bucket list as I’d like to see all this culture and tradition for myself. Everything celebrated seems to have such strong importance and history in their community and that is very respectable. The enriching country of Colombia is diverse and buried in so many forms of tradition.

To compare American culture and holidays to Colombia, I can definitely say that there are many things in common. One major common factor is of course that we both celebrate Christmas. Christmas is an important holiday in the US and in Colombia it seems to have even more of an impactful importance. Also, many Colombian holidays have a strong historical past that is celebrated along with fesitvities. In America, holidays have history typically, however the origin of these holidays is not discussed in/to the same extent. The way that holidays are celebrated is similar but also different as the US does not celebrate with big carnivals. The US does however celebrate strongly with food and various traditions, just like Colombia does.

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https://www.britannica.com/place/Colombia

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barranquilla%27s_Carnival

https://todowafi.com/culture/2023/01/05/exploring-the-origins-and-symbolism-of-el-negro-y-blanco-carnaval-in-colombia/#:~:text=Raizes%20del%20Carnival,giving%20thanks%20for%20successful%20harvests.

https://colombia.travel/en/blog/flower-festival

https://blog.remitly.com/lifestyle-culture/christmas-in-colombia/#11_Colombian_Christmas_Traditions