New Year's Eve in Honduras... Several people have asked me what it's all about, how Hondurans celebrate. Well, let me tell you, Hondurans celebrate New Year's.
A lot.
Loudly.
For hours.
Now, many of you have read my Facebook updates about firecrackers and fireworks. People light them off often. For various saints' birthdays and other celebrations within the Catholic church calendar. People set off firecrackers at many different family celebrations. People set off firecrackers just because.
A lot.
But on New Year's Eve, all bets are off. In fact, the holiday celebration really gets going about two weeks before Christmas. As various fireworks stands pop up all over town, so does the increase in frequency and intensity of fireworks and firecrackers.
So, back to New Year's Eve...
Many families have parties. Like most cultures, any time you can get together with family and friends is a good one! The highlight of the night, however, is not the parties, but the fireworks, firecrackers, and blowing up the old man.
Yes, you read that correctly: blowing up the old man. El viejito. El anciano. El pichingo.
The old man is like a scare crow, only it's stuffed with firecrackers. Lots and lots of firecrackers. More firecrackers than you can possibly imagine.
At midnight, you "light him up". But first, he's doused with gasoline to make sure that he burns completely. It's crazy. Firecrackers exploding, fireworks going off everywhere, and fires blazing every few houses as the old men burn.
A well-constructed pichingo can easily burn for 20 minutes. Sometimes more. And just when you think that all the firecrackers have exploded, you get surprised by a whole new string of them. Yes, it's quite a show.
Of course, with all of the fireworks, firecrackers, and men burning, the air gets quite thick with smoke.
Firecrackers continue all night long, until 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning. Then it's quiet for a few hours. Around 6:00 or 7:00, after people have caught their breath a bit, firecrackers start up again. The firecrackers continue with gradually diminishing intensity for about the first two weeks of January.
And that, my friends, is how Hondurans celebrate New Year's!!
