Peru -- it IS a Catholic country

 We arrived in Lima on January 5^th, just in time to see the Christmas season decorations in this Catholic country.    Our tour guide today said that 95% of the country is Catholic, but online sources indicate a range from 80 to 91%.  Whatever the percentages, the country has remained supremely Catholic since the coming of the Spanish conquistadors 460 years ago. 

One result of all this religion is that you see a lot of nativity sets, the largest of which was in the outside porch of the city government building in El Centro – not a problem in this country because Roman Catholicism is the official state religion.

Although we didn’t see any “Three Wise Men” or Epiphany celebrations this year on Jan 6th, last year Peruvian police dressed up as Wise Men, mounted horses and rode around the city, visiting homes for old people and orphans and handing out treats to kids on the streets.


Following, you will see some pictures of the unique nativity scenes and other holiday decoration shots from our tours around the city of Lima.  There apparently aren't any evergreen trees close-by because we saw very few "real" trees.

 Not many "real" trees in Lima, but the trees are more creative.  This one, filled with artifacts from all over Peru, stands in the central plaza and was absolutely gorgeous.  The top picture is the full tree; the second one is a close-up of the bottom of the tree.

 Notice the choir members and the natural-colored decorations.  More on those later.

 Some of the trees are amazingly creative.

 And this one is the only "real" tree we saw.  It happens to be in the outdoor dining area of our hotel.

 Lots of nativity sets, all with "colorful" figures.  This one appeared in a market square.

 Here is another creative tree.  This pic is only the top portion since they were in the process of taking it down.

Notice the natural-colored decorations.  Peru's current president is the first indigenous leader of the country, and in honor of his heritage these new holiday decorations with an indigenous flair appeared.

 This nativity set is on the outdoor balcony of the city government center.  Apparently, there are no arguments about whether such a scene is appropriate in this very Catholic country.