How to celebrate a Dominican Republic Christmas like a local

The Atlantic Hurricane season ends in November and December marks the start of the official dry season in the Dominican Republic. With average temperatures usually hovering around the mid-80s (perfect beach weather), the island provides an oasis for your holiday celebrations. The skies are blue, the sun is out and the breezes are gentle. Who needs a white Christmas when you can have a toes-in-the-sand holiday?

Dominicans love Christmas – and they love to share it with visitors. It’s a time for family, food, and giving thanks. When you come to the Dominican Republic during the holidays, you’re guaranteed to be treated like family. To make the most of your festive vacation, immerse yourself in the wide range of Dominican Republic Christmas traditions ranging from the conventional to the down-right wild. Are you ready to enjoy one of the most memorable holiday seasons of your lifetime? Discover our favorite things about the Dominican Republic Christmas. 

Christmas Eve in the Dominican Republic is known as La Noche Buena (the “Good Night”). On La Noche Buena, Dominicans often gather for a big family feast, with traditional food and drink such as rum and beloved Christmas songs are sung. 

This is a night for celebrating, and often adults offer small gifts to children as a prequel for the main gifts either given on the 25th or on the 6th of January, known as Reyes.

A sight that will become very familiar if you’re visiting the Dominican Republic around the holidays is the glittering beauty of the Christmas charamicos. Charamicos are Dominican Christmas trees, essentially. Of course, there aren’t a lot of fresh-cut fir trees in the country, so charamicos are handcrafted out of wood by artisans and decorated with dazzling color and beautiful ornaments. As you travel through the country in the winter, you’ll see them everywhere you go, from front porches to city streets to town squares.

As in other countries, the Dominican Republic has many popular (and delicious) holiday dishes and recipes that are enjoyed this time of year. One of the most typical dishes around the table is cerdo asado (roast pork). Dominicans also enjoy pasteles en hojas — banana leaves that are filled with pork, meat, chicken, or fish. And don’t forget dessert! Dominicans conclude their Christmas feasts with sweets, including pudding, jalea de batata, and turrón. And never mind eggnog. Dominicans prefer a nonalcoholic beverage known as jengibre, which has a ginger flavor that goes perfectly with an after-dinner cigar and is drunk during all the holiday festivities.

The skies light up with regularity during the holiday season in the Dominican Republic. Fireworks – fuegos artificiales – are a big tradition in the DR, with beautiful and exciting displays taking place in cities and beaches throughout the country. A great way to celebrate the holidays with a bang! (But for safety, remember to leave the displays up to the professionals!)

Many Dominicans go to church on Christmas Eve as well, for a midnight Catholic mass service known as La Misa del Gallo (“Rooster’s Mass”). The name of this ceremony comes from the belief that a rooster crowed on the night when Jesus was born. In the Dominican Republic, one of the most popular La Misa del Gallo celebrations takes place at Cathedral de Santa Maria in Santo Domingo’s Colonial Zone.

You can’t have Christmas without gifts! And the Dominican Republic is no exception. Here, traditional gift-giving is known as “Un Angelito” (A Little Angel). It is just like Secret Santa celebrations in the USA. The names of the participants are placed in a sack. Then, you pick a name from the sack and that person is your Angelito. Every week, you’ll give your Angelito a little gift, keeping your identity secret. On the last day of the gift exchange, you reveal yourself!

Music is a passion for virtually every Dominican – and you’ll hear it everywhere you go during the holidays. The infectious Aguinaldos tradition is the Dominican version of Christmas caroling. An “Aguinaldo” is a casual group of family and/or friends who walk from house to house, singing with great cheer.

It starts out with just a few people, but as the Aguinaldo makes its way around the neighborhood, more and more people join in, creating a spontaneous holiday street festival, with hot cocoa, dancing, and a very merry ambiance. One of the most famous Dominican holiday songs is “A Las Arandelas.” Listen to singer Manuel José Rivas’s stirring rendition of this Dominican holiday favorite.

During the Dominican Republic Christmas holidays families and neighbors come together at lively Christmas parties known as parrandas navidenas, like mini festivals. These dances are held in public places and orchestras serenade the crowds of people with classic salsa, merengue, and bachata hits. The atmosphere is always glowing with the palpable excitement for the holiday season buzzing in the air. Traditional food and drink are always available for revelers to keep energy levels high and the party going into the early hours.

The Anglophone, Afro-Caribbean migrant descendants in the Dominican Republic are known as Cocolos. In Cocolo tradition, every 25th December, a group of dancers known as Los Guloyas take to the streets of San Pedro de Macorís. Dressed in fluorescent, multicolored traditional dress and towering headdress made from peacock feathers, this group of dancers fills every corner of the streets with their lively dance and infectious rhythmic music. The tradition has African roots and has been recognized as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. If you are planning on visiting the Dominican Republic during the holiday season, this is one of the traditions that cannot be missed.

One of the most special Dominican Republic Christmas traditions actually takes place once the holiday season is over. La Vieja Belén (The old woman of Bethlehem) is a mystical figure that forms an ancient part of Dominican folklore. She is a gift giver who assists families in need during the holiday season. On the occasion that a child should not receive a gift either at Christmas or during Reyes, the Old Woman of Bethlehem will visit that child the Sunday after the 6th of January to offer a small token, normally a handful of candies or a nominal amount of money. This heartwarming tradition shows that the magic of Christmas is still very much alive in the DR.

Whether you are planning a Punta Cana Christmas vacation or a sun-filled Santo Domingo Christmas, the festive season proves to be a wonderful time of year for an island getaway. Enjoy lazy afternoons sipping on Dominican rum sundowners and dining on feasts of delicious local delicacies while you soak up the vibrant festive atmosphere. You will never be far from a party at this time of the year, especially if you stay until New Year’s Eve, but if you crave rest and relaxation, why not gift yourself a luxury spa treatment or a massage on the shores of a picture-perfect beach? However you choose to spend your Dominican Republic Christmas, festive cheer and fun are guaranteed.