Christmas festivities come to a peak on Nochebuena (Christmas Eve), as Mexican families look towards a long night of last-minute shopping, traditional religious celebrations, and the lively gatherings that will spill over from Monday, December 24 into the 25th.

While last week’s horrific massacre in Connecticut has reignited the debate over the right to bear arms in the United States, a recent report suggests Mexicans are also paying the price for their northern neighbors’ lax gun-control laws.

Youtube.com has become so ubiquitous on the internet that I really do not think I need to take much time to explain what this website is.  Just in case you do not know, YouTube is a video-sharing website on which anyone can upload, view and share videos.  The company slogan “Broadcast Yourself” is taken far too literally by some people and so there sure is a lot of content of questionable value wasting a lot of space, but if you take the time to wade through all of the clutter you are likely to find there are plenty of videos worth watching.  Many of these are content uploaded by media corporations including CBS, BBC, VEVO, Hulu, and others.

On December 22, 1997, dozens of Mascara Roja paramilitaries entered a church in Acteal, Chiapas and slaughtered those praying inside. The 45 victims, members of pacifist Christian organization Las Abejas, included 15 children – the youngest being a two-month-old baby – and 21 women – four of whom were pregnant.

Mexican citizens cling tenaciously to their own familiar ways of celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Among these are the popular nacimientos (nativity scenes or creches) which can be found in public places and private homes all over Mexico from mid-December through Three Kings Day on January 6.

Nowadays most Mexicans tend to pooh pooh traditional hand-made wooden toys as suitable seasonal gifts for young ones.  But foreigners in search of a “cultural alternative” for their young children or grandchildren can find a wealth of inexpensive toys with both educational and practical value at some of Guadalajara’s covered markets, in particular, the Mercado San Juan de Dios (or Libertad) in the city center.