page_title: Christmas in Mexico
section_title: Christmas season in Mexico
hierarchical_section_title: Christmas in Mexico / Christmas season in Mexico
caption_attribution_description: Chihuahua Plaza Mayor durante Navidad
context_page_description: Christmas in Mexico is observed from December 12 to January 6, with one additional celebration on February 2. Traditional decorations displayed on this holiday include nativity scenes, poinsettias, and Christmas shoes. The season begins with celebrations related to the Virgin of Guadalupe, the Patroness of Mexico, followed by traditions such as Las Posadas and Pastorales.
  On Christmas Eve, there is a mass and feast. On January 6, the arrival of the Three Wise Men is celebrated with Candlemas and the presentation of images of Jesus as a child at churches. These traditions were formed from influences in both the pre-Hispanic period and Mexico's colonial period, thus incorporating indigenous and Spanish practices. There are also a few influences from both Germany and the United States.
context_section_description: The Christmas season in Mexico runs from December 12 to January 6, with one final celebration on February 2. Christmas traditions incorporate remnants of indigenous practices, customs from Spain, novel Mexican inventions from the colonial period, and later elements from the United States and Germany.
  Market activities start in late November, with traditional markets and new Tianguis (street) markets appearing. Stalls are dedicated to selling gifts and decorations including traditional poinsettias and nativity scenes, as well as Christmas trees, ornaments, electric lights, and reindeer figures.
  Starting in December, residential units, homes, and buildings are decorated with poinsettias named "Noche Buena" (from the Spanish phrase that means "good night" referring to Christmas Eve). In the pre-Hispanic period, they were called "Cuetlaxochitl", and were appreciated in the mid-winter. Poinsettias were cherished because indigenous people believed they were a symbol of fallen warriors receiving new life, whom they believed returned as hummingbirds to drink the nectar of these flowers. A modern Mexican legend says that the poinsettia was once a weed that miraculously turned into a beautiful flower so that a child could present it to the infant Jesus. The name for this plant is also used to refer to a dark bock-style beer which is only available during the Christmas season.
  Since the second half of the 20th century, Mexico has adopted a number of German and U.S. Christmas traditions. Christmas trees were originally imported into Mexico for the expatriate community, but have since become more popular with the Mexican population, often placed with more traditional nativity scenes. Christmas trees have become more common as household incomes rise and tree prices fall, with artificial trees easily available from stores like Walmart, Costco, and local Mexican chain stores. Live trees are also common, and Christmas tree production in Mexico is now a large industry. Less-fortunate families that cannot afford live trees often seek small artificial trees, branches, or shrubs.
  In 2009, Mexico hosted the world's largest Christmas tree, according to Guinness, at 110.35 meters (approximately 362 feet) high and weighing in at a staggering 330 tons on Glorieta de la Palma at Paseo de la Reforma. Santa Claus, depicted in his traditional red winter clothing, appears as well. Before Christmas Day, it is not uncommon to see stands with Santa Claus. Parents take advantage of this opportunity to take memorable pictures of their kids. After Christmas Day, these stands have one or more "Wise Men".
  Many children get presents from both Santa Claus and the Wise Men, although they tend to get more from the Wise Men because "there are three of them". Public Christmas celebrations mix Mexican and foreign traditions. Mexico City sponsors a Christmas season display in the city's main square (or Zocalo), complete with a towering Christmas tree and an ice rink. Nativity scenes are placed here and along Paseo de la Reforma.
  During Christmas, it is common to hear both traditional and contemporary Christmas music. Traditional music includes villancicos (akin to Christmas carols) with popular songs including: "Los pastores a Belén"; "Riu, riu, chiu: El lobo rabioso"; and "Los peces en el río". Contemporary music includes Spanish covers of foreign music, such as "Jingle Bells".
caption: Christmas tree and lights in the main plaza of the city of Chihuahua
exif: {"Image Make": "Panasonic", "Image Model": "DMC-LZ3", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Ver.1.0", "Image DateTime": "2006:12:17 22:37:38", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "418", "Image PrintIM": "[80, 114, 105, 110, 116, 73, 77, 0, 48, 50, 53, 48, 0, 0, 14, 0, 1, 0, 22, 0, ... ]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "7060", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "7876", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/6", "EXIF FNumber": "14/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2006:12:17 22:37:38", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2006:12:17 22:37:38", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "2", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "61/10", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "640", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "480", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "6908", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Custom", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "38", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "Low gain up", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal"}