The Jesus Tortilla and Luminarias

OK, if y'all really must know about The Jesus Tortilla, read this article. I claim no affiliation, and for the record, we have never made a pilgrimage to see it. (Much of what New Mexico is famous for is somewhat archetypal. Really. Well, ok, some of it. Alright, just the tortilla. The rest, we can identify with, but the tortilla, we had nothing to do with!)

Now the yard of sand and 200 paper sacks... that's good stuff! Here is a photo of Albuquerque's Old Town, all decked out in luminarias. (Surprisingly few photos of it on the internet.) In high school, one of the youth organizations I was in had the contract to do these. We started stuffing sacks with sand in July. We set them up the day before Christmas Eve. Even with fifty kids and just as many adults, we were out there all day long. We set each other on fire quite a lot. (Teens, fire and fatigue aren't the best combination.) We were out there at o'dark hundred the day after Christmas to remove them. We were so sick of sand and bags and candles by then, but had the best time. The results are truly worthwhile. If you're going to be in the Albuquerque area at Christmas, make a trek to Old Town. If you think you'd like to try some on your own, go for it and send us a picture!

OK. Nevermind. I tried to find a good link to making your basic, plain luminaria. It seems the Martha Stewart/Santa Fe Tourism Bureau crowds have gotten hold of the idea. Too kitschy. Tin cans and dainty patterns. One pattern included a "Merry Christmoose". Pffffttt. Just for clarification, there are no stinkin' moose in New Mexico!

So here is my bare-bones, tires on the roof, old-fashioned directions for making luminarias:
1. Take a lunch sack. (You'll have to buy a whole package, so use all of them. One luminaria wouldn't look right, anyway.)
2. Open it. (Or them.)
3. Dump two inches or so of sand into each open bag. (You want the bag to stand up, not cave in on itself, and not blow over in the wind. However, you don't want it too full because, well, that's just silly.)
4. Set your bags up where you want them. (I don't recommend bedsides, near curtains, or gas outlets. You know, use discretion. I can't be held responsible for folks who don't understand combustion.)
5. Snug a votive candle into the sand. (You could do the candle beforehand, but they shift and that's twice the work. These are seriously minimal-effort directions.)
6. Light your candles.
7. Oooohhhh. Ahhhhhh. Enjoy! (And blow them out before you go to bed!)

Kiss those babies!
~Dy