Luminarias and Farolitos, Christmas decorations in New Mexico

December 22, 2019 8:04 PM

Visit New Mexico in the winter and you'll see glowing brown paper or plastic bags adorning walkways around businesses, homes and churches, as part of a tradition that 400 years in this area. This local tradition began when the Spanish villages along the Rio Grande displayed the unique and easy to make lanterns, called luminarias, as ways to guide people to people to Christmas celebrations (Visit Albuquerque). But, as is the case with so much of history and tradition in New Mexico, there's a debate on what to call these winter decorations. “They’re farolitos,” folks north of La Bajada Hill insist. “Luminarias,” everyone south says. (New Mexico Tourism)

More from NM Tourism:

In a December 3, 1590, journal entry, Spanish explorer Gaspar Costaño de Sosa (portal to Deni Seymour & Mark Harlan on the web) mentioned the small bonfires his cohorts had lit to guide a scout back to camp. Luminarias, he called them, thereby casting the first stone in what’s now a 426-year-old, northern-versus-southern New Mexico debate over the little paper bags that light up our holiday nights.
...
Over the years, even linguists have disagreed. Their arguments for and against fill a fat file at the Fray Angélico Chávez History Library at the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe. Among the few certainties: Before the 1872 invention of flat-bottomed paper bags, before the ready availability of votive candles, and before electricity and strings of “icicle lights,” New Mexicans marked the paths to their doors and the local church with small, Sosa-style bonfires on Christmas Eve—symbolically lighting the way for the Holy Family.

Chinese paper lanterns found their way to Santa Fe via the 18th-century Manila galleons and El Camino Real, but the fragile paper didn’t invite outdoor use. Once cheaper paper bags arrived on the Santa Fe Trail, locals discovered they could fold down the tops, anchor them with a few handfuls of sand, and set a small candle inside for a subtler display that didn’t deplete the winter woodpile.

But what to call them? Some folks stuck with luminaria—“light” in Spanish (Spanish Dictionary). Others adopted farolito (Spanish Dict.), from farol, the Spanish word for “lantern.” In the 1930s, as more people got the paper-bag bug, newspaper articles dithered, alternately calling them farolitos, linternitas, and farolillos. In 1958, the August New York Times chimed in, but said Albuquerqueans called them farolitos, further confusing the geography. Before his 1996 death, author and historian Fray Angélico himself waded into the debate and essentially concluded, “Whatever.”

One of the largest display of luminarias is Las Cruces on the New Mexico State University campus, where this year, more than 7,250 luminarias illuminate the NMSU campus (Las Cruces Sun News; NMSU's page with more photos).

Eight farolito photos from the Santa Fe area from Santa Fe's tourism website. If you're in town, there's the annual Farolito Walk.

If you want to make your own little paper bag lanterns, ignore wikiHow's three methods, because they're all wrong (with regard to local traditions). They don't have faces or patterns, they're just paper bags with sand and votive candles or electric lights (Old Farmer's Almanac, who then veer off into some discussion of tin cans with patterns punched out).

posted by filthy light thief (19 comments total)

It doesn't seem to be related, but this reminds me of the Día de las Velitas / Day of the Little Candles that kicks off the Christmas season in Colombia.
posted by Wobbuffet at 8:21 PM on December 22, 2019 [1 favorite]

Interesting, I never heard faralitos. But Sante Fe is Northern U.S. to me.
posted by bongo_x at 9:13 PM on December 22, 2019

We used to do this in our neighborhood in Tampa, Florida. The local pharmacies would sell the bags/candles in kits, and you had to go find the sand yourself. We used the nearby empty lot until they finally found someone to develop it.

I remember the smell of the paraffin driving through the neighborhoods. It was a real holiday highlight (the lights, not the smell so much).
posted by that girl at 9:37 PM on December 22, 2019

Also, we called them luminaries.
posted by that girl at 9:38 PM on December 22, 2019

When I was a child, we folded luminarias in school to raise money for charities (SoCal Catholic school). Ya adulta, I was introduced to the name “farolito”, but I had never heard that name before. Where I live now, nobody know what they are.
posted by msali at 9:42 PM on December 22, 2019 [1 favorite]

Nueva Mexicana from Southern Colorado here. (Yes, that's a thing.) As far as I'm concerned, they're luminarias.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 2:04 AM on December 23, 2019 [3 favorites]

I grew up in Southeastern North Carolina; there was one neighborhood nearby that coordinated lining both sides of the street with luminaries on xmas eve. It was so magical.

I believe it is my favorite childhood holiday memories. It was before people had tons of outdoor lights, the weather here is usually temperate so the windows in the car were rolled down as Dad drove through and we kids were mezmerized by the sight. Afterwards we went by Krispy Kreme and each picked out a doughnut.

And I always wondered about the houses where folks were out of town or a different belief; of course the neighbors put them out, but how was it arranged? It must have been a nice community event. Neighbors actually talking and coordinating something. Because this was ages before the internet.
posted by mightshould at 3:35 AM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]

In western PA when I was a kid people put paper bags with sand and candles out on sidewalks as well. Then they went to halved gallon milk jugs. But I haven’t seen it in decades since. I really loved it as a child.
posted by terrapin at 3:53 AM on December 23, 2019 [2 favorites]

Team Luminarias here.

Now tell everyone what “Christmas” actually means in New Mexico. (Hint for non-New Mexicans: it happens all year long.)
posted by MexicanYenta at 4:07 AM on December 23, 2019 [5 favorites]

I'm going to do this, here in frozen New England. I've got all the requirements, including a pile of 8-hour candles that I won't use otherwise. Maybe it will start a trend.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 5:12 AM on December 23, 2019 [3 favorites]

From Grants. I would periodically hear someone correct someone else to say they were called "farolitos," but I really only heard people use "luminarias."
posted by PMdixon at 6:35 AM on December 23, 2019 [3 favorites]

The brown bag lights tradition is broader than just New Mexico; over in San Antonio they call them luminarias.

But I lived in Santa Fe so it's farolitos for me. Along with the good hotel El Farolito and Santa Fe's best bar (and flamenco venue) El Farol.
posted by Nelson at 7:10 AM on December 23, 2019 [3 favorites]

Yep, grew up in Houston and with relatives in San Antonio: always heard luminarias, never heard farolitos. Whatever you call them, they're still pretty.
posted by fiercecupcake at 7:50 AM on December 23, 2019 [2 favorites]

My hometown has done this for about 30 years now. Community groups assemble the kits and distribute them to every household. It looks great.

We are in Michigan, so it's not common here. I guess someone brought the idea back from New Mexico in the 80s and it stuck.
posted by elizilla at 1:21 PM on December 23, 2019 [1 favorite]

I've been in Santa Fe over 30 years and always called the bags with candles, luminarias. Found out recently that was contrary to the home grown Santa Feans. I went out to Lamy, NM (a small community South of Santa Fe and the official Amtrak stop for Santa Fe) to see the decorations and lights for Winter Solstice and anyone interested can see my photos here.

Bundling up and going out to see the luminarias and farolitos for the holidays is one of the many reasons I enjoy living here.
posted by jabo at 1:57 PM on December 23, 2019 [3 favorites]

Cool - I had never heard or seen anything about these until someone nearby emailed our HOA a few days back and asked if they were allowed. I thought it was maybe some super fancy decorating for a Christmas party. The more you know.
posted by inflatablekiwi at 2:26 PM on December 23, 2019

hippybear, we’re planning on going to Old Mesilla tomorrow specifically for that. Although right now we’re sitting in the ER, so it might not happen. (Mr. YentaPartner is getting 2 kidney stones for Christmas. Thanks, Santa!)
posted by MexicanYenta at 5:47 PM on December 23, 2019 [2 favorites]

My maternal grandfather was a workaholic who died when I was ten, but one of my few treasured memories of him was helping him with the luminarias before Christmas. This was in Four Hills in the early 70s when the neighborhood was the big destination for Christmas lights viewing.

Old Town is very pretty at Christmas with its luminarias.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 2:21 PM on December 24, 2019

It’s raining here in Alamogordo, too. :(
posted by MexicanYenta at 4:34 PM on December 24, 2019