The Good Night

There's no Thanksgiving celebration in Cuba, which would make sense since there were no Pilgrims. The original Cuban natives were almost completely annihilated by the Spanish colonialists. But since the holidays are coming up, I'll write about another celebration, and that is Christmas Eve, or Noche Buena. Noche Buena translates to "The Good Night," and it sure is good.

First, I must clarify that Christmas was not recognized as a holiday by the Castro regime until the year 1998. This didn't stop people from celebrating in their own homes, though. In my house, we owned a small Christmas tree. It was scantily decorated with often faulty lights and with empty boxes wrapped up to look like presents. And of course, there was always a nativity scene decoration.

The day before Christmas, or Noche Buena, is when the real party begins in a Cuban home. One of the main traditions is having roasted pork loin. I remember once when my grandfather stabbed a pig in the heart and the creature started squealing and running around until it dropped dead. I don't remember if I felt sad or not, but I do remember enjoying the food later. There's always rice and black beans accompanying the meat, as well as salad and yuca (cassava). There's usually beer for the adults, and if the kids are lucky, a cheap imitation of Koo-laid. Every once in a great while a Pepsi bottle would pop up, but that was a rarity.

Pork was not always easy to find, especially during Cuba's "special period," but families always managed to make their Noche Buena a good night.