On the eve of Christ­mas, chil­dren march up and down the streets singing Christ­mas car­ols and shout­ing, "Christ is com­ing, Christ is com­ing! He is near!" in their lan­guage. In the evening, peo­ple flock to church­es, which are dec­o­rat­ed with Christ­mas ever­greens or palm trees, massed with can­dles. Hymns are sung and Na­tiv­i­ty plays are pre­sent­ed. On Christ­mas day, chil­dren and old­er peo­ple, rep­re­sent­ing the an­gels in the fields out­side Beth­le­hem, go from house to house singing. An­oth­er church ser­vice is held, where they dress in their na­tive at­tire or West­ern cos­tumes. Lat­er on there is a feast of rice and yam paste called fu­fu with stew or okra soup, por­ridge and meats. Fam­i­lies eat to­geth­er, or with close neigh­bours, and presents are giv­en. On the west coast of Africa, in Liberia, most homes have an oil palm for a Christ­mas tree, which is dec­o­rat­ed with bells. On Christ­mas morn­ing, peo­ple are wok­en up by car­ols. Presents such as cot­ton cloth, soap, sweets, pen­cils, and books are ex­changed. Al­so in the morn­ing, a church ser­vice is held in which the Christ­mas scene is en­act­ed and hymns and car­ols are sung. Din­ner is eat­en out­doors with every­one sit­ting in a cir­cle to share the meal of rice, beef and bis­cuits. Games are played in the af­ter­noon, and at night fire­works light up the sky.

Christ­mas in parts of Cen­tral Amer­i­ca

In Guatemala, elab­o­rate pro­ces­sions take place dur­ing the Christ­mas sea­son, with sev­er­al re­li­gious stat­ues and an im­age of a white beard­ed im­age rep­re­sent­ing God at the end of the pa­rade. The im­age has a look sim­i­lar to that of San­ta Claus. Marim­bas and Chir­im­ias ac­com­pa­ny the pro­ces­sion. On Christ­mas Eve, the Christ child is added to the pro­ces­sion. Manger scenes, known as Nacimien­tos, are dis­played in church­es and pub­lic are­nas. Mid­night Mass, known as Misa de Gal­lo or the Mass of the Roost­er, marks the end of the fes­ti­val. In Latin Amer­i­ca, Christ­mas is known by sev­er­al names such as Las Posadas, Navi­dad and Dia de los Tres Reyes. Homes and church­es are dec­o­rat­ed dur­ing the hol­i­day sea­son, with lights and bright coloured flow­ers. In Nicaragua, Christ­mas of­fi­cial­ly starts on De­cem­ber 6, but fes­tiv­i­ties start from De­cem­ber 16, when the search by Mary and Joseph for a shel­ter is re-en­act­ed. All homes have a manger scene, and the home that pro­vides lodg­ing to the cou­ple is the one to sup­ply wine and food.