Recalling my younger years when we would celebrate the Latino version we call Noche Buena, which translates to Good Night.
Noche Buena is a holiday celebration for Christian Latinos around the world. In the simplest terms, Noche Buena is a Christmas Eve gathering for Hispanic Christians to welcome the birth of Jesus Christ. It's not to be confused with Media Noche, which refers to a lavish midnight feast that takes place on New Year's Eve.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Called Nochebuena, the exact parameters of how to celebrate it depend on our culture, family, and even the particular year.
Some folks celebrate during the entire afternoon and late into the night by eating, drinking, dancing, and playing games. Others first head off to Misa de Gallo, Midnight Mass, or Mass of the Rooster, then celebrate into the wee hours, or eat dinner first and then get to Mass. There is plenty of food... Tamales, coquito, posadas, buñuelos, piñatas, and homemade dumplings —none of which I associate with Christmas during all the years I've lived in the US.
Food, of course, is a huge part of Latin American Navidad. But my fellow Latinos also touched on one of my favorite Latin Christmas-themed facts: no matter what part of Latin America we all hail from, there’s one thing that seems to unite us all. What Latinos call “Navidad” is something we celebrate on the night of December 24, even though the rest of the world insists on calling it “Christmas Eve” because actual Christmas falls on the 25th.
What Is Nochebuena? What You Should Know About the Christmas Eve Celebration
https://www.thekitchn.com/what-is-nochebuena-23485773