How is the Christmas Season in Costa Rica?
Christmas: Tico style!
Christmas is probably the biggest celebration around the globe, yet Costa Ricans know how to add an extra flavor, the Tico flavor, to the holiday festivities.
By early December, the Holiday Spirit arrives in Costa Rica with fresher winds and temperatures in the low 70’s, declaring the end of the country’s HOT winter (remember that under the Equator we have opposite seasons, hence winter in the U.S. is summer in the south) and the imminent arrival of a much cooler summer. Seasonal fruits, such as grapes, apples and pears, make their appearance in abundance, while shops and streets are embellished with all sorts of decorations, and images of “Colacho”, a Costa Rican nickname given to Santa Claus, start showing up in the scene, all signaling the arrival of the Christmas festivities and the clock’s countdown for a month-long of preparations, celebrations and lots of food.
Tico Christmas is joyfully accompanied by numerous festivals and parades. Costa Rican’s warmth during the Christmas season is heartily felt in every corner, and the country’s merry celebrations seem to have no end! Starting off with the Lights Festival (Festival de las Luces) on the second Saturday of December, Costa Rica officially kicks off its Christmas season and the capital city of San Jose is transformed into a spectacular show of lights, culture, music, street dances and costumes, a vibrant scene for locals and foreigners alike who attend the event every year – having accrued close to a million visitors this year! The season’s festivities carry on with San Jose’s two-week long Fiestas de Zapote, stage for the extremely popular seasonal bull fights, or Toros de la Tica, an activity involving dozens, if not hundreds, of Tico young men that put their bravery to the test as they jump into the bullring and attempt to tease the bull into charging, emulating the Spanish tradition, yet with no harm to the bulls – or the young men, as a matter of fact, who every now and then get no more than just a fright. The day after Christmas, celebration is far from subsiding as Costa Ricans hit the streets once more for the Tope Parade, an impressive Equestrian display of skill and prize-winning horses, who “dance” for the audience while they strut the streets of San Jose, and features the Costa Rican hand-painted oxen carts, probably the most famous type of Costa Rican art. Finally on December 27th, the capital city of San Jose dresses up one more time to be the stage for the country’s last official Christmas celebration, the Carnaval, a gigantic street parade of Costa Rican culture, music and folklore, together with massive floats, extravagant costumes and flamboyant street dancers and music players -a true TICO celebration!
The Christmas Season in Costa Rica is a time to be joyous and a time to be BUSY!! If you plan visiting Costa Rica during the Holidays, you’ll arrive in Costa Rica’s peak season (Dec 15 – Jan 10 more less). Accommodation costs go up (at least 20% higher than usual) and everything is PACKED! Hence, make sure to book your flight, hotel AND ACTIVITIES several months (and we mean several!) in advance. Keep in mind that public institutions, embassies and banks are closed from about December 20th till January 3rd, so if you need to cash checks or run any diligences with local institutions, plan ahead as well. Lastly, during the Holiday Season ATM’s tend to run out of money!! -there’s just way too many people and no one to fill them up- in case you might need to pull out some cash on the 24th or the 31st, you might have to borrow money instead!! Just joking, but definitely one more thing to keep in mind to fully enjoy your Costa Rican Christmastime,
Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from your Costa Rica Activities Specialists!