The Finance Ministry this week reported that problems with Customs duties in the past year resulted in the seizure of thousands of packages, most of them online purchases made between October and December, boosted by Black Friday and Christmas.
A total of 147 workers this week filed Labor Ministry claims against employers over problems with Christmas bonuses, known in Costa Rica as aguinaldos. According to Costa Rica labor laws, the deadline for aguinaldo payments was Dec. 20.
Despite all of the marketing efforts to make Santa Claus the star of Christmas in Costa Rica, 39 percent of Tico parents polled in a survey last month said they tell their children that Baby Jesus, known in Spanish as El Niño or El Niñito, is the one who brings gifts on Christmas Eve.
