Christmas Traditions in MEXICO. Happy Holidays Dear Humans! 🇲🇽 🌮 E05
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Published 2023-12-24
December is a busy month in Mexico. Even before the contact with Spaniards, mexica (Aztec people) people celebrated for several days preparing for the longest night of the year. This night god Huitzilopochtli - Aztec god of sun - was believed to die. Only proper rituals and sacrifices could revive him and kickstart the new cycle. Mexica celebrated with dances and songs, formed processions and carried Huitzilopochtli figurines, visited places of power. Figurines were made with amaranth seeds and maguey honey and were eaten after the festival. If everything went according to the plan, the coming days would get longer and Nature would wake up again.
Spanish friars liked the festival but didn’t like the sacrifice part so they introduced Christian elements into the tradition. This is how Panquetzaliztli festival turned into Posadas.
Posadas are celebrated for nine days, from December 16 to 24th. 9 days of celebration represent the 9 months of pregnancy of the Virgin Mary with her son Jesus - they traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Posada is Spanish for “lodging”.
Children dressed as angels perform processions through the streets of the town every night on these days. These celebrate the part of the Christmas story where Joseph and Mary looked for somewhere to stay where Mary could give a birth to Jesus.
Children visit selected homes and ask for a place to stay but can’t find any vacancy. At each stop, passages from the Bible are read and Christmas carols are sung. Adults, including musicians, follow the procession. The children proceed till the last house which allows them to enter. At the end of each night the mass is held.
Nowadays, posadas are celebrated in a variety of ways. I got a chance to watch processions through the streets of San Cristobal de las Casas and the streets of San Nicolas Buenos Aires, and these processions had everything - cartoon caracters, Santa Claus and his reindeers, Grinch and his stolen Christmas, Micky mouse, Gingerbread man, toys, police/ambulance/funeral cars, and even some rap, rock n roll, and electronic music were played.
This is also a good time to break a piñata. A piñata is a container, often made of papier-mâché, pottery, or cloth, that is decorated, filled with candy, and then broken as part of a celebration.
It appears this custom has some pre-Hispanic roots as well but Christianity introduced a new meaning. Brightly colored vessels are meant to represent temptations created by Satan. Seven horns of a traditional piñata represent seven deadly sins and candy inside is a prize for banishing them.
It doesn’t matter whether you believe or not - it’s always fun to both watch and smash!
There are also reusable piñatas. They can be in different shapes and forms, and are gently opened with ribbons. These piñatas can be used by the child as a toy, or a keeper of treasures in their room. Also it can be reused at a later party, and it can be made of durable materials instead of just papier-mâché,. Large plastic containers can be used as a shell, instead of a balloon.
Another important part of Christmas tradition is the day of the Virgin of Guadalupe. It is celebrated on December 12 and it marks the beginning of the Christmas Holiday season in Mexico.
On this day, people either visit the important picture of Virgin Mary in the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City or go to a church service. Processions are held throughout the country.
This image is important in Mexico because it represents when Spanish and indigenous people came together in faith, forming a special Mexican identity.
Of course, this is Christmas time and Nativity of Jesus scenes, called Nacimientos are everywhere - and they are gorgeous! Generally they are set up on December 16th, but the figurine of Jesus is added on Christmas day, and then, on January 6th, Día de Los Reyes (Three Kings Day), figurines of three magi added. Star-shaped Piñatas may symbolize the star that guided magi to Bethlehem.
Join me on this travel throughout the country just before Christmas Nochebuena!
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All Comments (21)
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Hey guys, If you're enjoying the content I create, you can help fuel my upcoming adventures. It would mean the world to me! ⛽︎www.buymeacoffee.com/kseniiaadv
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Gracias por tus lindos comentarios acerca de nuestra cultura! 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
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Hermoso video, gracias por mostrar las costumbres navideñas de Mexico. Un pueblo rico en cultura
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🪅I've never heard the Christian modified version of the seven deadly sins piñata, interesting! There was a lot of piñata destruction when I was growing up in my family. My late mom loved the Christmas poinsettia too, we're from the Sac'to area. She passed Dec 12, ten years ago. I also handmade a ton of 🫔🫔🫔growing up, soaking ojas, spreading masa, stuffing, folding,,,it was a seasonal tradition. And midnight mass. Thanks for the Holy day Christmas scenes, and stories! Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus. Your Light⭐️shines bright!
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Thank you so much for all these fantastic impressions and informtions about Christmas in Mexico and happy holidays to you and your beloved ones!
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Merry christmas Kseniia A big hug, you are a love 💕😃 saludos de México 🇲🇽
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Obviously you put quite some work into assembling this video - writing the text that provided the historical context and the editing of this video with the stories that went behind the video. Thank you for the seasonal themed video Kseniia, it was great.
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I hope you enjoy a Rosca de Reyes while you're there!
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Ha ha ha... this is so extra 🤣💖 Mexicans know how to throw a proper birthday party 🌠😇👍
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Feliz navidad también para ti Ksennia...disfruto mucho tus videos...gracias por compartir tus viajes. From Chile.
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Carlos Freire - Brasil - Hello dear Kseniia. The episode showing Mexican traditions, a very rich culture, is really cool. Merry Christmas and New Year to you too. Lots of winds. Hugs.
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MUY BONITO VIDEO TE MANDO UN FUERTE ABRAZO Y QUE PASES FELIZ NAVIDAD🎉✌️
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Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 🎉🥳
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A very good video. Thanks for giving us a view into the Traditions in Mexico. Merry Christmas Ksenilia
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Merry Christmas sweet soul. Stay safe and have a happy new year.
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Merry Christmas to you and all you meet from Canada
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Feliz Navidad , y Prospero Ano Nuevo , Kseniia , good history of you in regards to the Christmas and the Reyes Magos , looks like a good time out there!
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Did you study antropology or something else? Into this episode you mentioned certain events that I had to remeber, because I almost forget forever those really important facts to understand our tradicions. I want to give to you my best wishes for your road, and also give you my thanks to really try to undestand, what´s going on in this coutry every december month.
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Thank you Kseniia. Happy holidays. Have a safe adventure.
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Looks very festive
