Today (Thursday) we celebrated el Día de los Niños in the orphanage. Continuing the idea behind Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, Latin American cultures also celebrate Children’s Day! Wish you would have known about this as a kid, right? The actually Dia de los Niños isn’t until Saturday, but the orphanage began the festivities early.
side note: Similarly, they celebrate a day for every relative, profession, sport, etc. imaginable. Vilma told me a reoccurring joke here in Xela is that today is el dia de la pluma!—translating into Pen Day to celebrate all the wonderful specialness of the everyday desk mate—since almost every day is celebrating something.
Long story short: tons of candy, hyper kids (as you might have guessed). But my favorite part of a story is all the moments that happen in between the once upon and time and happily ever after, so if you are like me feel free to read on!
The orphanage was buzzing with excitement as soon as I walked in. All of the older kids knew what was going on, and even the youngest ones that I work with seemed different this day, like they could sense the expectations hovering thick in the conversations and stealing glances of the older ones. The niñeras were flying around at double speed trying to get all of the children bathed and dressed for the occasion.
When the preparations were finally finished, we took all the kids downstairs to join the other seventy+ children in the middle room. A lot of the little kids went straight to some of the older ones who gave them gigantic hugs and let them sit in their lap. It was precious to see how the children take care of one another and show the love that is so desperately missing in their lives. The faces of the little ones lit up immediately when they knew they were sought after.
All the kids were seated in a circle, with three colorful piñatas floating over their heads. Each piñata was for a different group of kids—one for the children under six, one for the older boys, and one for the older girls—so they would all have a chance to take a swing and fill their pockets with dulces (candy, or literally, sweets) small trinkets, and mini soccer balls. Whenever a child would step up to the piñata, everyone sang and clapped along to an upbeat song, which I later found out is the traditional piñata song that serenades many a piñata in Guatemala to its spectacular demise.
Seeing a two-year-old who just recently mastered the art of walking trying to swing a decorated stick at a rainbow-covered donkey twice their size is sure to brighten anyone’s day. But if that doesn’t do the trick then I’m sure your weight in candy will! After breaking open and collecting the treasure of the three piñatas, the kids were then given cake and what I am sure can be nothing less than 275% sugar fruit drinks. Each child was then given their own “surprise,” a bag filled with a small toy, chips, and yes, more candy.
Needless to say, my last hour at the orphanage was full of chasing down children, opening plastic packaging, wiping chocolate off many eager (or possibly crazed?) faces, and all together enjoying my first Dia de los Niños.
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