Every year, one sign indicating that Christmas is near is the illumination of fanaux in the streets. Every year for Christmas, Haitian children build beautiful hand made boxes in different shapes and sizes. They carefully cut them with precision into churches, schools, animals, airplanes, etc. and call them fanaux.

The magic comes at night as they are walking with these fanals in the dark, with a lighted candle places in the middle showing the multiple colors and shapes of these artworks.

To have a good fanal, it takes anywhere from one to two months to design and build. Many people sell them during Christmas. Fanal is typically a Haitian original.

Picture originated from Youtube.com