In Mexico, December is a month that is not only filled with celebrations, but a starting point that precedes a prolonged celebratory state in people. Read on & you’ll see what we mean 😉

It seems, there is a tacit agreement amongst Mexicans which says starting December 12^th (which pinpoints an “unofficial” but highly praised “holiday-start” date) we all switch into a celebratory mood, for it was when Our Lady of Guadalupe made her glorious apparition to Juan Diego back in 1531.

A lovely & poignant event, that denotes a profound devotion to Her given our religious customs & traditions, which have endured the passing of time & that definitely excites most people into the approaching holiday season.

This day is called “Día de la Guadalupana” & on every December 12, at 12 o’clock in the morning, thousands of Mexicans sing in unison the well-known song of “las mañanitas” (our traditional birthday song) in front of the Basilica of Guadalupe located in Cerro del Tepeyac to the north of Mexico City, & people will organise peregrinations to get there, sometimes as a form of penitence or special offering to Her.

Most Mexicans would have altars dedicated to Her in the comforts of their homes & will attend mass, usually celebrated with music or Mariachi as well. Streets are filled with adorned caravans that travel around the city to share the joy of this event.

In the following days, posadas are not long in coming & all the fiesta & seven-star pinata smashing starts happening in most Mexicans’ homes. The perfect time & occasion to gather & celebrate a significant rite of passage that finds its roots in colonial times.

In an attempt of transforming indigenous festivities & aligned them to Catholic traditions, evangelizing friars changed the “Panquetzaliztli” festival, which celebrated the advent of Huitzilopochtli, god of war (originally from December 16 to 26), into the image of Mary & Joseph.

This not only facilitated the evangelization work, but also allowed the performance of nine Christmas bonus masses (misas de Aguinaldo) followed by public representations of Joseph & the Virgin Mary’s pilgrimage on their way out of Nazareth to Bethlehem & their search for shelter in the imminent birth of Jesus Christ. These made up a total of 9 posadas or lodgings.

Eventually, this traditional celebration started to make roots in most Mexicans & other Latin Americans alike. Nowadays, the posadas take place from December 16 to 24 & each of these nine days represent values such as humility, strength, detachment, charity, trust, justice, purity, joy & generosity.

Both children & adults will enact the story of when Mary & Joseph were looking for a place to stay. Most people organise these gatherings amongst their neighbourhoods, with their family members, or both even & each night of the Posadas, a recreation of these scenes will take place.

The procession will consist of 2 sides: a family or half the guests that will be designated as hosts & will play the role of the innkeepers that will turn Mary & Joseph away until they reach to the one family that will do the shelter & place of the fiesta; & the other side, will be played by another family or half the guests who are “outside” pleading for shelter, just as Mary & Joseph did.

People will hold candles & even costumes (traditionally, there would be a child dressed as an angel leading the procession) & sing to request shelter or “pedir posada”. They often involve music or musicians playing these songs & also statues of Joseph & Mary if possible.

After arriving to the last & final place where they are welcomed in, the crowd then gathers around the nativity scene & prays together for a few moments. After that, the mood brightens, & the fiesta starts! Tamales & buñuelos are waiting to be eaten, ponche nice & hot to be drank & a 7-pointed star piñata waiting to be shattered to pieces & reveal its prizes inside!

By the way, did you ever wonder why pinatas have 7 ends? These symbolize the 7 deadly sins: laziness, gluttony, envy, anger, lust, greed, & pride. The stick we use to hit the pinata, simulates the powerful force that destroys all evil & we now have a chance to start anew, leaving old bad habits behind.

These Posadas culminate with Noche Buena or Holy Night on December 24^th which is Christmas Eve. We then proceed to enjoy a family night together, where a delicious traditional dinner is served & stay up late around midnight to wish everyone a happy Christmas.

The next day, on the 25^th, gifts are exchanged & with that the miracle of the arrival of El niño Dios or “child God” who has come to deliver them. In some up-northern states, there are some families that celebrate the visiting of Santa Claus too. In whichever way Mexican families wish to celebrate, December 25^th is essentially a day when most families & friends get together again to taste the reheated Christmas dinner & spend a day in peace, love & connectedness.

So, in the lead up to December & in order to get you in the festive mood, we would love to share some recipes & fun traditions that happen during this season for most Mexicans.

Traditionally, & being winter, tamales, flautas & pozole are essential eating, complimented by chocolate caliente (hot cocoa), ponche navideno. The meal isn’t complete without postre (dessert), often buñuelos (thin fried pastries covered with sugar) or Churros with sticky cajeta for dipping or filling.

Other rituals are performed around cleanliness & prosperity & welcoming a new year:

Sweep the house to remove all bad vibes (starting from the last room or back end towards the main entrance, never the other way around).

Go for a walk with your luggage outside your house, in your street, getting back inside & repeat as many times you’d like to attract more trips & vacations.

Use of yellow or red underwear: yellow for good fortune & money, red for love, etc.

Eating 12 grapes: people eat 12 grapes, one for each bell that strikes at 00:00. It corresponds to the number of months & the wishes that you want to be granted next year.

So, now you know a couple of the best traditions, try something new this year!

Filled with strong love & warmth, from our kitchen to yours…

Happy holidays everyone!