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San Miguel Mission is a historical church in Socorro, New Mexico. The original mission was built in 1627 and the current structure was re-built in 1891. The "lamps" shown on the top two pictures are paper lanterns, also known as "luminarias" or "farolitos." In the Southwest region of the United States there is a tradition of lighting paper lanterns during the holidays. In Christmas Eve the function of these paper lanterns is to guide people to Midnight Mass. My wife and I were in Socorro on December 24.

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