{"id":97209329,"date":"2019-12-03T19:38:08","date_gmt":"2019-12-03T19:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/?p=97209329"},"modified":"2019-12-04T12:04:48","modified_gmt":"2019-12-04T12:04:48","slug":"how-to-spend-the-holidays-like-a-local-in-colombia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/how-to-spend-the-holidays-like-a-local-in-colombia\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Spend the Holidays Like a Local in\u00a0Colombia\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Colombia is one of the most popular winter destinations for Americans who want to celebrate the holidays with lots of festivities and escape the cold temperatures, and for Colombian expats who want to visit loved ones during the special holiday season. Christmas time brings lights, decorations and fireworks to the streets, while January brings some of the biggest music, book, and handicraft festivals in the country. These are some of the\u00a0things to do and places to visit in Colombia during the holidays.<\/p>\n

See the Holiday Lights<\/h2>\n

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December 7\u00a0is celebrated as D\u00eda de las Velitas,<\/em> or ‘Day of the little Candles’, all over Colombia. You can see houses and streets decorated with candles and lamps, and experience fireworks, music, and dancing at night. The 9 days leading up to Christmas are called \u2018novenas.\u2019 This is when families, friends, and neighbors pray together, sing carols and have house parties.<\/p>\n

The city of Medellin is known to be one of the best cities in the world to see Christmas lights, and the locals, known as paisas<\/em>, take their Christmas decorations very seriously. The 52nd<\/sup> anniversary of Medellin\u2019s Christmas Lights known as Alumbrados EPM, tradiciones que iluminan la Navidad<\/em>\u00a0will boast 27 million LED lights and 32,000 hand-woven figures this year.<\/p>\n

Shop Local<\/h2>\n
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Image by Sucheta Rawal<\/p><\/div>\n

Fabrics, jewelry, woodwork, and leather are just a few of the things Colombia is famous for. Plan your shopping trip around the FAREX Fair in Cartagena<\/a>. Twenty years running, this event promotes Colombian culture through the display of products made by indigenous, Afro-Colombian, and rural and urban communities, as well as traditional and contemporary artists and artisans.<\/p>\n

Rock It at a Music Festival<\/h2>\n
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A post shared by Cartagena Festival de M\u00fasica (@cartagenamusicfestival)<\/a> on