La Noche de Las Velas (Steve)

Colombians had told us for weeks that December was one long celebration: "It all begins on December 7, 'la noche de las velas.' That's when everyone lights candles for the virgin. They light the way for her journey to Bethlehem." We had forgotten about the celebration until around 8:00 that evening when we heard music coming from downstairs. We decided to make an appearance just to be polite. I did not expect too much. Then I saw the glow of dozens of candles illuminating the faces of my neighbors: children grouped around a circle of candles laughing, teenagers full of life, parents and grandparents chatting intently. It felt like we had gone back in time, perhaps to some Colombian village full of extended families and their traditions. As I adjusted my eyes to the scene I chose a group of kids to sit beside. I saw that they were tilting up candles to drip wax onto the brick sidewalk. Then they were molding the wax into a ball and rolling it around like a snowball that gets bigger and bigger. I looked around and noticed most of the kids and some teenagers were doing the same thing. The biggest wax balls were the size of their fists. Pretty soon I pulled out my camera to take pictures. The candlelight made everyone look so beautiful. I was struck by how all of us – Ian, Anna, Joel, and Barb – seemed to be captivated by the candles. Joel was lighting and dripping candles like everyone else and, after a brief hesitation, I decided to let him continue. How badly could you burn yourself with a candle, I wondered. Ian and Anna seemed to have a little competition going over the wax (it was everywhere, so why did they have to be competing for the same drippings?) and over who could make the biggest ball. Barb was lighting a candle inside one of the many bags lined up along the sidewalk. I remembered as a kid we did this once or twice for parties at our house and we called them Japanese lanterns. Our paper bags were brown, but these were pastel colored and had a picture of the Virgin Mary that glowed when the candle was lit. Barb accidentally caught her bag on fire, engulfing Mary in flames. I put my camera down and helped her blow it out. I looked around but no one seemed to notice. I saw everyone around me, including my three kids, smiling and happy and I thought about how this was one of those brief moments when the world seems perfect. -Steve