New Mexico is a land of enchanting traditions and beauty year-round, but much of the state’s rich heritage relates to life around the holidays.
One of New Mexico’s trademark holiday decorations takes the form of luminarias, or farolitos, depending on what part of the state you’re from. Consisting of sand and a candle in a brown paper bag, these decorations are common all over the state and offer a unique holiday style that is not commonly seen outside of the Land of Enchantment.
UNM’s annual “Hanging of the Greens,” which typically features more than 14,000 luminarias set up around campus, is one of the largest displays of luminarias in Albuquerque. This year, festivities at UNM will take place on Dec. 4 and will include lighting of the luminarias around campus, caroling and the annual lighting of “The U” at Hodgin Hall Alumni Center.
The city is also famous for its annual Christmas Eve Luminaria Tour. The tour can be experienced by taking an ABQ Ride bus or by walking, and consists of looking at luminarias placed throughout neighborhoods in downtown and Old Town Albuquerque. For those taking public transportation, six tours will be given throughout the evening and will begin at the Convention Center. Tickets for the event go on sale Friday.
Although not funded or sponsored by the city, the Lee Acres neighborhood in northwest Albuquerque is also notorious for featuring large numbers of luminarias along the roads, sidewalks and roofs of homes. The Lee Acres community can be found off of Fourth Street and Solar Road, and is a popular place to witness a road lit only by the glow of luminarias.
For those who don’t live in the Albuquerque area, luminarias are widely celebrated in the rest of the state as well. According to newmexico.org, other holiday-themed celebrations around the state include Santa Fe’s Farolito Walk on Canyon Road, Elephant Butte’s Luminaria Beach Walk and Floating Parade of Lights, and the Christmas Luminaria Tour at the Enchanted Forest in Red River.
More information about dates, ticket prices and transportation for these events can be found at newmexico.org.
The River of Lights is another favorite activity of New Mexicans throughout the holiday season. Taking place at the BioPark every winter, the River of Lights is the largest walk-through holiday light show in the state, consisting of over 500 light sculptures, as well as live music from local artists and holiday-themed arts & crafts activities, according to the City of Albuquerque. This year the River of Lights will begin on Saturday and run through Jan. 2.
Along with the state’s uniquely themed activities and decorations, New Mexican cuisine is always something to look forward to around the holidays.
Although popular year-round for New Mexicans, foods such as tamales, biscochitos, posole and red or green chile stew are traditional dishes prepared heavily by New Mexican restaurants and families alike during the colder months. Biscochitos, which are lard-based sugar cookies usually topped with cinnamon, were even named New Mexico’s official cookie in 1989.
Skiing and snowboarding are not uniquely New Mexican activities, but the state does offer some of the best places in the country to take part in these winter activities. Out of 220 North American ski resorts that were evaluated, ZRankings ranked Taos Ski Valley 21st on the list, with Ski Santa Fe the next best ski resort in New Mexico, coming in at 69th. According to onthesnow.com, a website that ranks ski resorts by state based off of customer reviews, the other top winter sport destinations in the state include Angel Fire Resort, Pajarito Mountain Ski and Ski Apache.
From chile ristras hanging up in Old Town Albuquerque to Christmas parades in Aztec, the Land of Enchantment offers New Mexicans a unique charm that can only be felt in the state around the holidays.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Ryan Lotz is a reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com.
