Come Celebrate the Holiday's with your family!

Next Weekend - Saturday, December 7, 2019 AMERICAS COMMUNITY CENTER Invites you: THE MEANING BEHIND  "NOCHE DE VELITAS" With your help by supporting and attending our annual even, you are helping us celebrate a tradition that is near and dear to the heart of the latin community. They are now able to share this experience with their new friends and family made here in the city of Weston. Together we will teach the new generations, one of many, different family traditions that are observed during the holiday season.  Day of the little candles (Dia de Velitas) is one of the most observed traditional holidays in Colombia. It is celebrated on December 7, on the eve of the Immaculate Conception, which is a public holiday in Colombia. This day is the unofficial start of the Christmas season in the country. On this night, people place candles and paper lanterns on windowsills, balconies, porches, sidewalks, streets, parks and squares; in short, everywhere they can be seen, in honor of the Virgin Mary and her Immaculate Conception.  Some places celebrate the night of the little candles several nights before December 8, particularly in the Paisa region. This is believed to derive from a hanukkah tradition since a large number of paisas are from Jewish descent. This can be affirmed with the beginning of the Novenas in which thru the 16th of December families gather and give aguinaldos, presents, to each other, similar to the Hanukkah celebration. In Bogotá, the Christmas decorations reach their peak on this day; the city, fully decorated, plans late activities for the whole family since most Colombians would be out and about admiring the shows, many streets close to traffic and allow pedestrians to walk freely and stop to admire the light arrangements. Malls, museums, stores, and other public places have extended hours of operation. There are many shows that take place on this night, live nativity scenes, caroling events, among others. In the Caribbean region of Colombia, the lighting of candles and lanterns takes place on the early hours of December 8, before sunrise, instead of the night before. Devout Catholics wake up before sunrise and light candles with their family members. Many people decide to stay up all night and party in celebration and light the candles sometime before they retreat to bed. Families meet to celebrate the day and along with lighting the candles, there is abundant food and drinks. An evening that brings extended families groups together to talk during the evening.