In the Andes, Christmas is celebrated with a combination of Native and Christian elements. The most important day of the holiday season is really Christmas Eve, known in the Andes as ¨La Noche Buena,¨or the good night. On this night many families cook a turkey or chicken and exchange gifts. It is also traditional to stay up most of the night to celebrate with a house party or tono, and to participate in dancing, eating and drinking as part of the festivities. Fireworks are a big part of the celebrations, and the entire night of December 24t is replete with the sound of their explosions and the smell of gun powder fills the air.

Panetons are considered the treat to bring when one is invited to a Noche Buena party. A paneton is a large cakelike loaf that contains colorful dyed peices of fruit. They are sold everywhere beginning in early December and are consumed in great numbers during the holiday season.

Nativity scenes are very popular in Peru and almost every family has one. These scenes consist of greenery, statues of the holy family and their animals and other figures. The baby Jesus is called the Niño Manuelito in Peru and he is the center of the nativity. Some of these scenes are very elaborate and can take up most of an entire room. The moss sold for the greenery is real, and highly detailed scenes combining elements of nature (moss, rocks, etc) and statuary are sometimes created. More effort is often put into the nativity scenes than the Christmas trees, though both are often present.

Retablos are an art form that originated when priests used to carry around portable altars to different villages. They placed their nativity scenes in boxes so they were easier to move, and this evolved into the colorfully painted wooden or ceramic scenes that are seen today and sold in many craft shops around Peru. The retablos have double painted doors, which open upon the scene of the Holy Family and their animals and human figures.

Santa Claus is also recognized in Peru, though he is clearly a Western import.

In Cusco, the Santuranticuy or Buying of the Saints, is held on the Plaza de Armas on the day before Christmas. This fair has its origins in the time of the Vice-regency and is several hundred years old. It is one of the largest crafts markets in Peru. The supplies for nativity scenes, and a huge diversity of crafts and Christmas gifts are sold at this market. At night, the traditional sweet rum punch, or ponche, is sold to take the chill out of the evening.

Another Christmas tradition of Peru is the Chocolotada. During the week before Christmas, churches and other organizations organize them as charitable gestures for poor communities. The children are offered a cup of hot chocolate, a special type of bread known as a biscocho, and perhaps a gift. Rural folks come to Cusco by the hundreds to attend these events and to receive a treat for their children for Christmas.