Christmas Tamales, Costa Rica
Families gather to prepare traditional Costa Rican tamales for Christmas, often making large batches together, sometimes making extra just to share amongst family friends! Usually, extended families will agree on what kinds of tamales they will be making beforehand just to share different types (e.g. chicken, pork, meatless, etc.) amongst each other. Costa Rican tamales are traditionally wrapped in banana leaves and then cooked and shared in tightly tied pairs called "piñas". Traditionally, people eat them with "Salsa Lizano", which is our signature sauce in Costa Rica. Most piñas make it well past Christmas season, so they're kept frozen and eaten way into the next year whenever someone's got a craving for a good tamal (you might have to persuade someone to eat one with you though! Remember: they come in pairs).
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