a Burlap goodie bag for The "Novena"

Hello My dear Stamper friends:

I thank all the people who come and visit me and comment on this special busy time of the year...I know  how hard is to find extra time, so I am really truly thankful for your friendship and care...

Today, I am sharing with you this cute burlap bag that I decorated with some stencils and dies from Memory Box. This project was posted at the French blog: "Un brin de Créativité"...

I will be giving away these bags filled with sweet goodies on one of the nights of our traditional "Novena"...along with the Tag recipe card that I shared last week for the Blog Hop with memory Box and Poppystamps...

Today, December 16th is the official start of the "Novena".
Mexicans called it "Posadas", we Colombians, called it "Novena" and In France is called  La "Neuveine", which is a Catholic celebration of 9 days starting from the 16th until the 24th, which consists in gatherings in public or in homes, for reading prayers printed from small devotional booklets...
But In Colombia, this is not only a pious gathering but a whole party, each family takes turns and hosts a "Novena", the host family invites friends and relatives and every body sings along with the prayers and then we eat, of course and then we dance...
so in Colombia for 9 days is just party time!!!.. the elderly or more adults take it seriously, for the young it it just an opportunity to have fun, eat, sing and dance...
I remembered in my early years, these nights were the opportunity to get with cousins and friends and play around...nowadays, as an adult I get more the meaning of it and I enjoy reading every night the prayers and I enjoy cooking the special dishes for these days...
I remembered complaining as a child to "have" to read things that they make no sense to me, nowadays I am so grateful for these traditions, they shapes us in life!!!

As for the food, we have several traditional dishes prepared specially for these days.
Mexicans give "Tamales", that are sweet or savory cooked in corn husk, celebrate with Piñatas, and hot sugar cane drinks ...we, Colombians make our "Tamales", with 3 kinds of meats, potatoes, rice and vegetables cooked in banana leaves, fried some "Empanadas".. drink "eggnog' and prepared traditional desserts, something similar to "flan"...

I made yesterday these "Colombian Tamales"....
They look like small Christmas packages don't they?

As for my Goodie bag, I used these supplies

stenciled a small piece of canvas to be placed on the front of my bag...with this practical ink cube from "Versacolor"

and here it is a last view...I will filled them with chocolates...

In Mexico and In Colombia this period is very festive, and every family enjoys getting together, for me, living away, I still carry on with tradition and celebrate as if I was in Latinonamerica...and this is true for all my friends living away from their native countries...

Thanks for the visit...

I will be back as soon as I get another moment free...

enjoy this season...

and 
big hugs

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