Christmas is quite a bit of fun down here. Contrary to what some believe, it does get somewhat cold here, since we're at an elevation of around 2000 metres. However, what makes it *cold* is that the idea of insulation is a foreign concept to most houses. Thus, even though it's only “rather cold“ out, you can feel the coldness right through the house. I've got a little electric heater in my computer room (2 Pentium IVs and four routers aren't enough) to keep my hands from freezing.

Apparently there is a legal issue with selling real trees (”Pinabete” -- Fir or Spruce I'm guessing), some kind of ban. But that doesn't stop people from selling them. Instead, to get around the law, they cut up the tree, and then staple the branches to a piece of wood to get around the law (since they're no longer selling a “tree”). It's done quite well, and besides the fact that they get a bit dry after a while (even so, we had ours up for 4+ months last year), you'd never notice.

Some people are surprised to find that fireworks are used (almost exclusively) during the Christmas season. Christmas Eve, at exactly midnight (well, then it's be Christmas Day) everyone lights off tons of firecrackers and fireworks of all sizes. Then the do the same thing 12 hours later. The amount of firepower you can buy for pennies is quite impressive. Seriously, with a few cents, you can buy something big enough to blow a hole in a block wall. For about a dollar, you can get a pack of whistlers: small (8cm?) hollow plastic tubes filled with gunpowder that scream off as mini-rockets -- or blow up in your hand. Fun for the whole family.

This year, it seems as if a lot more people are buying aerial shells, the kinds you'd expect to see at a “serious” firework display. I've bought them every year I've been here. Playing with that kinda firepower is so much fun, since getting ahold of that stuff in u.s. or Canada is a bit of a challenge (well, if you come from any decent state :P). At any rate, pretty much every night we've been treated to some fantastic aerial display by some neighbours. Some of them are really quite huge, and I've heard more than a few car alarms go off because of the explosions.

With all this commotion, some people might think that Christmas would be quite a bit different, and surely it is. It's certainly a much more festive affair than in other places. However, the fireworks aren't as distracting as they might sound like at first. Indeed, hearing the deep sounds of the shells going off, the whistlers and firecrackers in the streets just reminds you that there's a lot more people around you, celebrating too.