It didn´t seem like there was anything special about this party, except the trees. There were two trees that had been cut down and "replanted" in the middle of the yard. It had ballons and presents dangling from the branches. We had hear the rumors of what the party was all about, and soon we were to get the whole experience. The music changed to more traditional music, and in danced the family that hosted the party, carrying a Peruvian flag and an axe.
They danced into the yard, circled the tree, and stopped. The kids went off to the small tree, while we all made a circle and danced around the big tree. Each person in the couple took turns taking swings at the tree, while the other paraded the flag around the circle. After a few knocks on the tree, the couple passed the axe and flag off to the next couple in the circle, who proceeded to dance, parade the flag, and of course take swings.
When the tree was a little less than halfway cut, everybody took a break to eat, drink, and watch the kids chop their tree. I was in the bathroom when it came down, and missed the excitement. Oh well, the big tree was still standing. They passed the axe, and with each swing, the anticipation rose. They passed it to us gringos, but when I took a few good whacks at it, they all yelled in fear. You see, the person who chops it down is responisble for putting the gifts in the tree next year. It might be hard to decorate the tree from the states. The tree was about 2/3 cut before it finally fell. Being nervous that a tree could fall in any direction at any moment, we were on the lookout. When it finally fell, instead of running away from the danger of the falling tree like us gringos, everyone ran to the tree and dove into and under it to get all the prizes. A melee ensued, and Ben and I frantically searched for the collander we wanted for the house. We came out with a few plastic wash tubs, and a lot of laughs. Check out some pictures HERE!
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