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when we have so much food and so much luxury, when those that made Christmas so
happy for us we have no longer among us!”
On the 25th one goes to mass. Before, this was the day that the best dress was
displayed. Everyone would try to look their best, as they say it corresponds to the
holiday.
A group of women singing in church. 2006
Photo Lucía Varona
For the women of Ciadoncha, to fix oneself up for a holiday was “the normal”
thing to do. When I visited Ciadoncha for the first time, I was very surprised to see all
the people in the Christmas mass. Some days prior I had seen them dressed in everyday
clothes, the famous blue overalls, work clothes, the women with no makeup and the men
unshaven. During that week I got used to seeing them like that, but on Christmas day I
could not recognize them. The men were shaven, well suited, impeccable. The women
were very good-looking with very elegant coats, high heels, and nylons. All the women
displayed very pretty hair-do’s which showed the careful attention they put into fixing
themselves. The people smelled of Heno de Pravia and all displayed beauty. For me this
was surprising because at this time the streets were still not fixed and there was a lot of
mud. I felt like I was in another place, surrounded by other people and not by the people
that I had become accustomed to seeing the prior week.
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