In this episode of It Makes Scents, I sit with what a Puerto Rican Christmas means to me now, as someone living in the Midwest, far from the island that shaped me. I talk about food, scent, memory, and the quiet work of keeping culture alive when it no longer lives around you, but inside you.

I reflect on my grandparents, especially my grandmother, who were the pillars of our family, and how honoring traditions feels like a way of honoring them. I talk about raising my daughter in the diaspora, about the fear of forgetting, and the tenderness of trying, imperfectly, to pass something meaningful forward.

This episode is about the ache of not being able to fully recreate home, and the realization that maybe we’re not meant to. Instead, we build something new: a blending of climates, cultures, and seasons. I explore how scent becomes a bridge between what’s gone and what’s still here... how perfume, food, and atmosphere can hold memory when details fade.

This is a quiet, reflective episode about identity, grief, love, and continuity. And it’s dedicated to my parents, my grandparents, my husband, and to everyone in the diaspora doing their best to keep traditions alive, one memory, one ritual, one scent at a time.

00:00 Introduction: A Fading Puerto Rican Christmas

01:10 Host Introduction and Personal Background

02:15 Cultural Disconnect and Family Traditions

04:26 The Essence of Puerto Rican Christmas

07:07 Adapting Traditions in a New Land

09:46 The Role of Scent in Preserving Culture

12:11 Honoring the Past and Creating New Rituals

15:35 Conclusion: A Dedication to Family and Culture