Sante Fe around Christmas time????
 

We would like to visit my Aunt in New Mexico around Christmas and would like to take a side trip to Sante Fe. What is Sante Fe like at Christmas (weather, decorations, events etc.) Thanks for any info.

The smell of Santa Fe and other New Mexican towns in the winter is wonderful. They burn pinon in the fireplaces and it gives off a wonderful aroma. There are lots of luminarios. There is a big nativity parade in Albuquerque that is usually live on television there and it is quite spectacular, at night with all the luminarios along the streets, and people carrying candles.

The weather is generally cold so you will be glad to drop into one of the many stores that will be serving hot cider.

I love Santa Fe at Christmastime! I lived there for six years and miss it! On Christmas Eve,people promenade up and down Canyon Road visiting Art Galleries,singing Christmas Carols at luminarias(in Santa Fe, a luminaria is a little bonfire,a a farolito is a votive candle in a small bag.)It's wonderful and you always see some friends and neighbors and feel lucky to be there. Bundle up,nights are cold,but days are generally bright,sunny and not too cold.

Excellent choice. Don't let this slip away.
Pinon is what we call "pine nuts".
Weather : chilly, with a chance of an inch of snow on the ground for a few hours or days.
Decorations : festive for certain, but not store-bought cheesy. The tradition of displaying luminarias involves a candle inside a brown lunch bag with sand in the bottom, placed every few feet apart on the perimeter of the flat roof of the house/business. Some residents line the sidewalks and walkways to their doors for the kids collecting candy. In recent years, luminarias are commercialized, factory-made in Taiwan, plastic replicas of the bags, with electric lights on a string just like regular xmas lights.
Farlito is literally, "little lighthouse, or little lantern", depending if you ask my mother or my father, right?
All along Route 66 and Hwy 40, you'll find the warmth of an extended family. If you're nearby, you might also visit Plaza Vieja in Albuquerque during Christmas season. (Sharpen your bargaining skills if you intend to purchase wares displayed on the sidewalks by the local jewelry artists).

Okay - Farolito. One of the "o"s didn't make it on my previous post. My fingers are faster than my keyboard on a Friday. Feliz Navidad.

Everyone makes Santa Fe sounds so wonderful at Christmas, we are so looking forward to this trip. Thanks everyone!!

I am so jealous. I have always wanted to go to Santa Fe at this time. I have only been there in June and August but I love it then too! Have fun!

There is a wonderful celebration in Santa Fe that usually happens around Dec. 20th or so--check with the Chamber of Commerce for the exact date. It's a re-enactment of Mary and Joseph looking for an inn and being turned down by the devil who appears on 3 sides of the plaza on the rooftops. Finally they get to the gate for the plaza inside the building where the Indians are usually sitting with their jewelry in the daytime. There they are welcomed and the big gates open to the inner courtyard for everybody to come in and have hot cider and cookies (and sing Christmas carols in Spanish!). There are a number of luminarias burning inside the courtyard, and it's a wonderful evening! They also distribute little candles to carry as the people follow Mary and Joseph all around the plaza as they search for a room.

I think that's called La Posada...?

It is La Posada,but I believe it is held earlier in the month.