Feliz Navidad
We travel the globe by celebrating Christmas traditions from around the world, one country at a time. Today, we step back and celebrate what has become a global celebration with “Feliz Navidad.” It means “Merry Christmas” in Spanish, but it has also taken on a life of its own, largely due to José Feliciano’s iconic song.
"Feliz Navidad" was written and first recorded in 1970 by Puerto Rican singer-songwriter José Feliciano. Interestingly, despite it now being recognized as one of the Top 25 most played Christmas songs around the world, the original version of "Feliz Navidad" did not enter any of the US Billboard music popularity charts until well over two-and-a-half decades after it was first recorded. It charted for the first time in 1998 and gradually kept gaining popularity. In 2010, the original recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and finally, in 2020, the song reached the Top 10 of the Hot 100 for the very first time, a full half century after first being recorded.
Feliciano recorded the song while feeling homesick at Christmastime, being in a Los Angeles studio while his family was in New York City. He remembered celebrating Christmas Eve with his brothers, eating traditional Puerto Rican foods, drinking rum, and going caroling. "I missed my family, I missed Christmas carols with them. I missed the whole Christmas scene." It’s amazing how such a song about loneliness has come to unify so much of the globe.
To celebrate our day of “Feliz Navidad,” we gathered as many Hispanic and Latin traditions as we could and brought them together. We played “Feliz Navidad” by José Feliciano and “Llego Navidad” by Los Lobos. We decorated with poinsettias, paper lanterns, and a piñata. We also played a “Merry Christmas in 21 Languages” quiz. For food, we had a green and red tapas platter, sautéed chorizos with red wine and parsley, and poured a glass of cava to celebrate. For dessert, we savored churros and coquito.
Because Ben takes his Christmas festivities so seriously, we also had to have a Feliz Navi-Dad element. Ben found himself a clever “Feliz Navi-Dad” T-shirt that he proudly wore all day while the rest of us lounged in some festive fel-eece. He also created a “Name the Famous Dad Associated with Christmas” game and also (because he also enjoys deisgning crossword puzzles for fun on the side), also made up a “Feliz Navi-Dad” themed crossword.
And after the games were concluded and the kiddos had drifted off, us parents curled up to watch Mario Lopez’s movie “Feliz Navi-Dad.”
Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad! …. Y Próspero Año y Felicidad! 😊
ACTIVITIES:
Pinata
Christmas Party Paper Décor Lanterns
Old Navy Fel-eece Pants & Slippers
FOOD & DRINK MENU:
Cava
INTERESTING READS & CONTEXT:
