A New Mexico Christmas: Red and green chiles

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas on the streets of Santa Fe, New Mexico. The central plaza sparkles with lights; farolitos ("little lanterns") line the rooftops; even City Hall is showered in shades of bright red and green. But you can find those colors all year long in the kitchens of New Mexico, where the meaning of "Christmas" takes on a different flavor.

At Tia Sophia's restaurant, diners deck their dishes with sauces made of red or green chiles. When they can't decide, they get a bit of both.

"There's different complexities to the red and the green, but they're both amazingly good," said one customer. "That's why I get 'Christmas,' because I love both of them so much."