Jenny's View
Dear Friends,
Besides “red or green,” the question you hear most often in New Mexico this time of year is “farolitos or luminarias?” I have heard that farolitos is preferred in Santa Fe, and luminarias in Albuquerque. But I did not know when and how one evolved from the other.
The tradition of lighting bonfires, or luminarias, on Christmas Eve to light the way to church for Midnight Mass goes back to Spain. Franciscan monks brought the custom to the New World. In the 1800s, Mexican artisans started seeing Chinese paper lanterns brought on trading ships from the Spanish colony in the Philippines, and made their own versions to hang on Christmas Eve. But in Santa Fe, fine Chinese paper was hard to come by, so rougher wrapping papers were substituted for the “little lanterns,” or farolitos. By the 1900s, paper sacks had made their way down the Santa Fe Trail from Boston, and quickly became the sturdy, go-to solution. As with so many New Mexico traditions, it was a lack of materials that gave birth to a beautiful homegrown creation.
Now we mainly rely on electric lights and plastic farolitos to last through the holiday season, but on that one night, the simple candle in sand holds a magic that has endured across centuries as part of an unbroken cultural heritage. Come take part in it yourself on Canyon Road on Christmas Eve, then join us for a rather more fleeting tradition here at La Fonda. Each year, Chef Lane and his crew top their fabulous holiday buffet with a dazzling ice sculpture. Check out the photos on
Facebook of last year’s creation, and book soon for this year’s Christmas buffet!
Happy Holidays!
Jennifer Lea Kimball
