The Phoenix Traveler

If you’ve never heard luminarias before, in Phoenix you’ll see them all over the Valley. It’s a “brilliant” tradition that honors the birth of Christ.

In my former north Phoenix neighborhood, the homeowners’ association distributed to all the homeowners the items you’d need for your Christmas luminarias. I’d step outside one afternoon to find at my front door a plastic bag filled with sand, ten votive candles, and ten paper bags–the kind used for school lunches.

On Christmas Eve, you’d see all the neighbors outside at the end of their driveways filling those paper bags with the sand, setting the candles inside the bags, and then lighting the candles at dusk. Entire streets would be lined up and down with the luminaria glow. My whole family participated in this annual tradition for more than 10 years, and I really loved taking part in the luminaria festivities.

In my new neighborhood that tradition doesn’t exist, but I did snap a picture (see photo aove) of a neighbor who put up his electric luminarias, with chile pepper lights, a few weeks ago.

Then, driving around downtown last night to see what the light rail line is looking like less than a week before its grand opening day (December 27), I spotted more luminarias, also called farolitos (a Spanish word meaning little lanterns). I discovered something I didn’t know before–The entire Willow Historic District does exactly the same thing my old neighborhood used to do. And it looks beautiful. It’s a larger neighborhood, so if you happen to be driving around downtown, north of McDowell Road and east of 7th Street, turn into the neighborhood and see for yourself.

The tradition is based on the Hispanic ritual of lighting a pathway to church for the festival of Las Posadas–a re-enactment of the story of the birth of Christ, and Joseph and Mary’s search for an inn. It usually takes place nine days before Christmas. 

If you’ll be in town and would like to visit other holiday light displays, these Web sites will direct you. Some may have luminarias as well:

AZ Family

AZ Central

(Photo used with permission by Jackie Dishner.)

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