page_title: Christmas in Mexico
section_title: Las Posadas
hierarchical_section_title: Christmas in Mexico / Las Posadas
caption_attribution_description: English: The girls observe another one smashing the piñata in a preposada at Mexico City Español: Unas niñas observan a otra romper la piñata en una preposada en la Ciudad de México
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: From December 16 to 24, there are a series of processions and parties called Las Posadas (from the word for inn). For many children, this is the most anticipated part of the Christmas season. The tradition was begun by Spanish evangelists to teach the Christmas story to the Indigenous people and ostensibly to supplant the rituals related to the birth of the god Huitzilopochtli.
  Today, they are usually performed in rural areas and the lower-class neighborhoods of cities. The first part consists of a procession. The most traditional version involves heading out after dark each of the nine evenings from a local church. A girl and boy are chosen to play Mary and Joseph in costume, sometimes with Mary riding a donkey. The rest of the procession carries candles, paper lanterns and/or decorated staves, and often an empty manger. If no one is dressed as Mary and Joseph, the procession generally carries a nativity scene.
  Las Posadas generally serves as a way to maintain community bonds with the neighborhood.  In one variation, the procession arrives at a house and divides in two. One half remains outside and sings a traditional song to ask for shelter. The other sings the response from inside, and the ritual ends with everyone inside. The other variation has the procession go to three houses singing, two of which "reject" the party until the third house accepts.
  The piñata started as a medium by which the Evangelists used to teach Christian beliefs to the natives. The traditional star-shaped piñata is broken by children during the Posadas. Like the procession, the Mexican piñata has a symbolic and didactic meaning. The vessel represents Satan, who has all the goods of the world, decorated to attract people. There are most traditionally seven points to represent the seven cardinal sins. The stick represents the Christian faith to defeat evil and release the treasure for all.
  After piñatas, there is a meal which usually includes tamales, atole, buñuelos, and a hot drink called ponche, which is made from seasonal fruits such as tejocote, guava, plum, mandarin orange, orange and/or prune, sweetened with piloncillo, a kind of brown sugar, and spiced with cinnamon or vanilla. For adults, rum or tequila may be added. Ponche recipes vary greatly in Mexico. The Colima version usually includes milk, sugar, orange leaves, vanilla, and grated coconut.
  At the end of a posada, guests receive a small gift called an aguinaldo, usually a package with cookies, dried and fresh fruit, and candy. Then, carols called villancicos are sung. A very old tradition has the song sung to the nativity scene, which includes the newborn Child Jesus.
caption: Breaking a piñata at a Posada
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