Have you ever heard of pernil, arroz con habichuelas? Unless you are Puerto Rican or have spent a lot of time in Puerto Rico, you probably have no idea what these important words mean to Puerto Ricans. In fact,  these three words represent Puerto Rican foods for a traditional Christmas or special occasion. Without these, there is no happy Christmas in Puerto Rico or in households outside Puerto Rico where people of Puerto Rican ancestry live.

       Puerto Rico has a tradition where, at the beginning of the year, the woman of the household gets a baby pig that is very little. The woman has to feed it, bathe it, take care of it, and protect it . As the pig gets bigger and healthier, that’s a sign of a good Christmas. By the beginning of December, that pig needs to be big and healthy and clean and ready to eat. Some people do a big Christmas party before the 24th of December to celebrate Christmas, while others celebrate  during Noche Buena – the night before Christmas.

       On the day of the celebration, the entire house wakes up to prepare for a big day; the men in the house go out and hang the pig to kill it, while the women  clean and prepare the kitchen. In Puerto Rico, people tend to live close by their family members, so they will all come together to watch or help out in the process of killing, cleaning, and preparing the pig. After the pig is dead, they start to cut up the parts that they will use for that night and the rest is stored in the freezer for New Year’s Eve. A typical dinner from the pig would be pork roast, blood sausage, and  pork rinds.

       When the insides are taken out, some people in Puerto Rico have different ways of doing the pork, and some will cut up the pig into two or three pieces while others will cook the entire pig, which is what my family does. We season the pig inside and out. Then we make a roast oven outside our house in the open air with two wood branches and a long stick, which is where the pig will go to roast. Then we make a turner for the pig to rotate it. We start this first because it takes a while for it to cook. While that’s going on, the ladies will clean the intestines; some will clean these for hours because they are very clean people– that’s why you should watch for who makes your blood sausages. The  process of this is long because, while some people clean the intestines, others make the filling, which consists of the pig’s blood that was collected when they were killing the pig and rice with some other spices. After the intestines are washed  comes the filling process, which I  used to enjoy doing. Using a funnel, they stuff the intestines with the blood and rice mixture.

       The pork rinds are made last because they need to be fresh and crunchy, and people will eat these as starters. When the sun goes down and the entire family and friends are there, the people who made the food should be showered and ready to feast on the delicious food they have made and enjoy the family time. Christmas in Puerto Rico is unique when it comes to our food and our traditions. You will need to experience this with your eyes and taste buds because I can’t describe how good it is.