Leon, Nicaragua

On Thursday night, firecrackers exploded in machine-gun bursts along Leon’s streets. In the city's main plaza, the cathedral teemed with people. The largest in Central America -- a bulky and dilapidated Gothic structure, mausoleum like -- was lit with Christmas lights. For once, is seemed welcoming.

Through the open doors, and the crowds of on-lookers, we could see a nearly-life size statue of the Virgin, draped in a blue robe and surrounded by angels with golden wings. The altar was in honor of "La Griteria Chiquita," a holiday that celebrates the day, in 1947, when the city struck a deal with the Virgin Mary: if she protected it from the erupting Volcan Cerro Negro, the residents would honor her every year with altars and a Halloween-like frenzy of door-to-door gift giving.

Instead of candy, there are all matter of gifts. Our guest house was offered boxes of matches, which they'd piled high near the front door. A house nearby was giving away ice cream. Some houses, clearly, are more popular that others with the children -- hurried parents in tow -- that raced from house to house with backpacks strapped to their fronts.