The Dominican Republic is in the West Indies and occupies the Eastern two thirds of the island of La Hispaniola, which it shares with Haiti. The Dominican Republic was discovered by Columbus in 1492. He name it La Hispaniola. The capital, Santo Domingo, in the south shore was founded in 1496. It’s the oldest European settlement in the Western hemisphere. 
     Santo Domingo is known as the city of the first: the first cathedral Santa Maria la Menor; 
the first University in America, Santo Tomas de Aquino; The first hospital of the New World; the first street lay out,  Las Damas; and the first castle, El Alcazar constructed for the first viceroy of the island, who was Christopher Columbus’ son. 
     The city from its very beginning is full of surprising stories. In 1586 the well-known pirate Francis Drake (English) kept the aristocratic and wealthy people of the city captive for 25 days in the cathedral, asking for a ransom of gold and silver for their release. 
     The Dominican Republic has gorgeous natural and man made attractions, miles and miles of golden beaches, mountains, rivers, caves, lakes, zoos, botany gardens, museums, national parks. There is something for everybody. 
     People in my country are in the holiday spirit for the whole month of December. They have  parties almost every week starting at the beginning of the month. They could be in night clubs or over people's houses. Our Christmas is very similar to an American Christmas; we celebrate the Jesus nativity and the New Year. On December 24th, we all get together and have a big dinner with all the family and closer friends. Everybody gets dresses up and goes to church first and after church goes home to have dinner. On that night, most of the people do not drink; they wait until next day, the 25th. That is the day when we have all the fun. People can drink and dance as much as they want. We are supposed to wear a new outfits-- starting from the shoes and ending in any accessory in your hair. The hair accessories are just for females. 
     During December we all get together and make ginger tea in the park of the neighborhood. After we drink the tea, we go house to house, singing Christmas songs and waking everybody up. This is called Aguinardo. Gifts are given only to children. We do not give presents to adults. We tell children that if they behave well during the whole year the three wise men will bring some gifts for them. 
     On January 7th, children go to bed early to wait for their gifts. They put water, three cigarettes, and a little bit of grass under the bed. The water for the three wise men to drink, the cigarette for them to smoke while they are resting from the trip, and the grass for the camel to eat. The next morning, all the children find their presents under their beds. After that day, we take down the Christmas decorations. This is how we celebrated Christmas in my country.