Adapting Holiday Traditions

As the year comes to an end, we enter into a season filled with key holidays and traditions that serve to recenter ourselves around the relationships we have cultivated within our families and amongst our friends. While the restrictions caused by this global pandemic aren’t ideal, advancements in technology can allow us to make the most of our situation by helping us adapt to the new orders to limit our social interactions. We at Guampedia are here to give some ideas on ways you can celebrate some of our most beloved holidays and traditions, even as we isolate with our families at home.

Nobenan Niñu

The nobena, or novena, is a series of devotional prayers said over the course of nine days that are associated with the various feasts of the Catholic Church year. The Nobenan Niñu is one specific type of nobena held during the Christmas season with the last day ending on either Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, or on Three King’s Day in early January. It is most often celebrated within individual family homes. Like other promesas, this nobena is generational and often passed through the female line from mother to daughter. As we prepare for this time valued tradition in the coming month, we are reminded of social distancing and limitations on gatherings. This year, share a link on any of the various online meeting sites and hold a virtual nobena that can be attended by friends and family in the village over or even across the seas.