Not only is the 6-year-old Cuban boy being showered with gifts from relatives and well-wishers, it's also simply the first such holiday he has ever experienced.
"We feel very happy that the boy will be able to spend Christmas in a free city, and in a free country like the United States," said Lazaro Gonzalez, the boy's great-uncle in Miami.
Officials are still mulling the fate of Elian, who left Cuba last month with his mother and stepfather. The couple drowned in their attempt to reach the United States, and the boy floated in the Atlantic Ocean for two days before he was rescued on Thanksgiving.
Relatives in Miami have sheltered him since his odyssey began. They say the biggest present has came from U.S. immigration officials, who held off making any decisions on his case through the weekend.
Elian's fate has become the latest battle between the U.S. and Cuba. Juan Miguel Gonzalez, the boy's father, says his ex-wife did not get his permission to take the child from Cuba and wants him back. Thousands of people in Cuba have protested for the boy's return.
But his relatives are fighting to keep him in the United States, saying he will have a better life here.
They also say Christmas will be a part of his new life – he never celebrated the holiday in Cuba.
Christmas was officially observed on the communist island last year for the first time since 1961, two years after Fidel Castro came to power. The government told Cubans it eliminated the holiday to increase productivity in the midst of its sugar harvest.
The government lifted its ban on religion a month before Pope John Paul II's historic January 1998 visit. In December 1998, the government declared Christmas to be an official government holiday.
This week, a group of Miami city officials, including one dressed as Santa Claus, brought Elian a battery-powered purple, yellow and red dune buggy, an aluminum bat and a baseball glove and ball.
Elian beamed as he drove the dune buggy around a small tree in the front yard of his adopted home. On Wednesday, he helped his cousin Marisleysis Gonzalez put up a 6-foot Christmas tree.
"I wish my cousin was here at this moment so he could know what his son was feeling when he was making that Christmas tree," Ms. Gonzalez said. "I look forward to having him here for next year with us."
On Thursday the family prepared for 'Noche Buena,' or Christmas Eve dinner, which Hispanics traditionally celebrate instead of Christmas Day.
Noche Buena consists of a whole pig, often roasted at home in a backyard pit, and later doused with mojito, a garlicky marinade. Yucca, rice and black beans are also served. Bubbling Spanish apple cider, or sidra, and wine traditionally accompany the meal. A midnight Mass often follows.
Elian's Noche Buena in Miami will likely consist of a bounty rarely experienced by Cubans on the island. In Cuba a pound of pork costs 20 pesos, or about $1. The average Cuban government worker earns about 250 pesos a month, or less than $15.
After Christmas, the Immigration and Naturalization Service will resume its work to determine who is legally fit to speak for the boy – a preliminary step in the process of determining custody. The custody question is expected to be decided in the courts.
"We're hoping a good decision is made and that his mother isn't forgotten," Ms. Gonzalez said. "She brought him to this country, and that should be respected. We hope also that my cousin is allowed to come here."
© Copyright 1999 The Associated Press