New Mexico, part 3.2

When the sun started to set on Christmas Eve, we drove into Albuquerque to see the illuminarias. The tradition in New Mexico is that there was no room for Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus; so if your home is open to the Christ then illuminarias are lit. These are paper bags with sand and a candle, that is lit. They line the path to the door, and sometimes the sidewalks, porch walls, and roofs. Everyone in downtown Albuquerque lights them and it’s miles and miles of lights to show the way for the holy family. We walked though the neighborhoods for about an hour, then headed to a Christmas Eve candelight service.

Here are some pictures of the walk. And because hot air-ballooning is so big in New Mexico there was a balloon glow too.