John Ugaz
Prof. Soy
English 101 a01
Description Essay #1

Thanksgiving and Christmas are one of the most special occasions in my family but I would have to say we all enjoy Christmas a lot more. Everyone around the globe comes to my parent’s house; we are talking about tio from Peru, Grandpa and grandma from Spain, cousins from North Carolina etc. The doorbell starts ringing, we all rush down the stairs to open the door for the family and everyone is coming in full with gifts and smiles. Every room in house is being occupied we have the young adults in a room watching movies playing games, pets around the house barking and sniffing around, all the ladies are in the kitchen preparing the food, while the kids are running around laughing, giggling, and while the men are watching sports drinking a beer talking about how life is going on with the family, work, and the social life. Music is playing in the house but you can barely hear it with everyone in the house laughing, talking, and shouting overall just enjoying the day as if it were the last time we were to spend it together. I really enjoy these holidays just because I see some uncles, aunts and cousins that I remember seeing when I was little.

Not every Hispanic family celebrates Christmas early but my family does we begin our special day on December 24th and end the next day at a very late time. My favorite part of the day is when the adults let the young adults and younger children eat first because we all don’t fit at the table all at once and after just sitting on the couch just letting the smell go in and out my nose I think we all have had enough of a tease. So there we are in line ready to serve ourselves some juicy chicken and turkey, with sides of potato salad, rice, lettuce, beans. As we are sitting down the oldest one in the table says a prayer and as soon as you hear “amen” boom everyone is digging in his or her plate already. Dessert than comes we have the caramelized flan, mazamorra (Peruvian purple pudding), arroz con leche (rice pudding), panettone with some warm hot chocolate. Off the table we go and the big people jump in and begin their own little ceremony. We all just hear laughter with them and after they finish eating they begin their long stories on who knows what they are talking about.

Some of us nap for a little after being stuffed; others just do anything to kill time just to wait until 12:00am of that night. Those that took the nap are now being awake by everyone together in the same room watching the Spanish news channel as we see the countdown on the big screen. The times get closer and the children get more and more enthusiastic to open the gifts already. “ Tres, Dos, Uno… Feliz Navidad”! Everyone shouting, hugging, kissing, some in tears of joy, Christmas wrappings flying in the air as the kids rip through their gifts, camera flashing, white smiles everywhere you turn. I would have to say that I have never ever been so happy to buy my younger siblings and they just are so shocked and smiling with their missing teeth, the best part is when they come up to you hug you and say thank you. This is just when the party begins in our house, we finished eating, we opened presents, we had our tears running down our face of happiness. Salsa, Merengue, Bachata is blasting all around the house the adults are either dancing in the living room or they are watching how the little ones imitate those dancing.

As the times goes on and on no one is paying attention to the clock. We are still enjoying the day is if it was 10pm when in reality it was already 3:00am. So the wine bottles are empty, babies and young ones are asleep one on top of another, the teens are watching movies some asleep. The