Recently Lake Chapala’s web-boards have been deluged with inquiries from people concerned as to the whereabouts of Viño Blanco, the white donkey formerly owned by the late Peter Moir. She was adopted by Yves and lived by his restaurant on the lakeshore until the restaurant moved. Since then, as one of her fans wrote in panic, “She’s disappeared!”

Long-time Ajijic resident Denny Allison qualifies as a jolly-spirited Christmas fanatic. Over more than two decades of residence he has accumulated a collection of holiday decorations so huge that he and his Mexican wife spend more than three weeks arranging more than 1,500 pieces that adorn practically every inch of their entire west-end abode.

The foyer at Chapala City Hall is the venue for the huge exhibition of landscapes depicting Biblical tales that is on loan from the town of San Antonio Tlayacapan.

Across Mexico the spiritual celebration of Christmas for Roman Catholics culminates on the night of December 24 with the Misa de Gallo (Rooster’s Mass) commemorating the Messiah’s birth.

Lakeside Presbyterian will be celebrating the season in these three meaningful ways.

As the holiday season comes to a frantic peak early next week, the parish churches in Chapala and Ajijic will present live representations of the Nativity aimed at bringing people together to focus on the true meaning of Christmas.