HIDALGO, Tex. — A man crossing the bridge from Reynosa, Mexico, to Texas lugged a merry toddler-size Santa Claus piñata that he had bought for $10. Maritza Delgado monitored her small children hanging upside down on a tree next to the sidewalk as they waited to cross back to Texas. Rene Saenz crossing toward Mexico carried Target bags full of diapers purchased at Sam’s Club to deliver to his family in Mexico.

Except for that business about the government shutting down because of places just like this, it was a pretty normal weekend at the quarter-mile bridge separating Mexico and Texas. There were long lines on Saturday, and people waited patiently for hours in the strong South Texas sun. For no apparent reason, there was hardly a wait at all on Sunday, to the delight of crossers who just wanted to spend time with family for Christmas.

What did it mean? What explained the difference in traffic on the same weekend? No one really knew, just as almost no one understood the machinations that led to the partial government shutdown. Instead, the comfortable symbiosis between the two countries played out regardless of the deadlock in Washington that threatened to keep the government shut down into the new year.

Most people on the international bridge in Hidalgo this weekend said they didn’t know about the shutdown or that the customs officers who checked their documents were working without pay.