Mexican Christmas Customs
About Mexican Christmas Customs
Mexican Christmas traditions are an eclectic mixture of indigenous cultures such as the Aztec and Mayan cultures, European cultures, (primarily Spanish) and since recently USA culture.
For example the nine day period of the celebration of Jesus Christ known as the Posadas (December 16thDecember 24th) coincides with the period of time when the Aztec used to worship their sun god.
Those nine days are the darkest, and the shortest days in a year so the Aztecs used to pray to the sun god for his return, and on the December 25th he would always return and the day would be a little bit longer than the darkest day in the year (December 24th).
The Posadas is a nine day period (December 16thDecember 24th) during which, Mexicans celebrate the preparation of the birth of Jesus Christ.
In traditional Mexican towns and villages every night one family is prescheduled to be the host for the night and give the lodging to family members, friends and neighbors that go through the neighborhood and act out the time when St. Joseph and Virgin Mari were seeking lodging just before the birth of Jesus.
Once everybody is in the house they gather around the Christmas Nativity scene and pray. They pray together and out loud. After the prayers are said everybody starts singing the traditional Mexican Christmas songs and the party can begin.
Probably one of the most famous Mexican Christmas customs is the piata. Piata is decorated cardboard container stuffed with candies and fruits that the children are supposed to break while blindfolded. After they succeed the candies and fruits are all around and the children are more than happy.
In the northern part of Mexico traditional gift giving is on the night of December 24th. However in southern Mexico the gifts are received on January 6th (the Day of Three Kings).
