How to celebrate a Mexican style Christmas
Mexican Christmas is still tinted with an old world charm and is a time for families to get together and celebrate the birth of Christ.
Not only do the Mexicans celebrate the birth of the Lord with total panache, they have lent the whole festival a local color in true indomitable Mexican style. Mexicans are very warm people and do not believe in doing anything by halves. Christmas also seems, bigger, brighter and better in Mexico than in many other staunch Catholic nations.
Many weeks before Christmas actually arrives, richly bedecked puestos (market stalls) are set up in the plazas of towns and cities and many people travel for days from remote areas to get to these markets. Here are some handy hints to celebrate Christmas Mexican style.
A few suggestions
- Join in the ‘La Posadas,’ perhaps the most delightful and unique of all Mexican traditions. Beginning December 16th, it commemorates the events in the journey of Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem. It ends on December 24th, which is also called the Noche Buena or Holy Night.
- Put up a Nativity scene in your home and enact the whole sequence with everyone’s help. You could even involve your guests and neighbors in performing the whole sequence of events leading to the birth of Jesus.
- Later hold a party for the children complete with a Piñata which is a paper or ceramic pot filled with peanuts in their shells, oranges, tangerines, sugar canes. Children are blindfolded while they try to strike and break the pot to have the goodies scatter which they run to collect.
- On Noche Buena, December 24, attend the midnight mass. Later invite friends and family to partake of the Christmas dinner with you.
- Do not exchange presents on that day because the Mexicans believe Christmas is a celebration of Life of Our Savior. Have the celebration of receiving presents on January 6th, ‘el dÃa de Reyes’, the day of the Kings. The Magi bring the toys to the boys and girls who have been good. The children place their shoes by the window, so the Magi place the present in the shoe.
Do’s
- Have fun and bask in the joy of togetherness.
- Wish everyone ‘Feliz Navidad’ or Merry Christmas.
Don’ts
- Do not forget to place the Baby Jesus in the manger in the Nativity scene.
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December 12th, 2007 at 7:59 pm
i am mexican not all maexicans do this my mexican doesn”t do this but in my family u do!:)
December 12th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
hi well i thuink that is great how mexicans celebrate christmas bacause am mexican.
December 13th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
THIS IS SWEET I ES MAXICAN AND I LOVE THIS STUFF SOOOO MUCH I COULD ALMOS MERRY IT!
April 17th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
whast up pplz i love mexico its awesome…….hhahahahahahahahahaahLOL
November 23rd, 2009 at 2:59 pm
I think you should add what they wear for christmas.
December 13th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
i liove mexican heritage so much it are soooooo cool:)
December 15th, 2009 at 10:56 am
HI IM DOIN A PROJECT ON MEXICAN CHRISTMAS
November 18th, 2010 at 4:45 pm
AYE AYE AYE
November 18th, 2010 at 4:48 pm
IM DOIN A PROJECT ON MEXICAN CHRISTMAS WITH MY LEADERSHIP BUDDIES SMILEY N TORTI IN MRS OWENS CLASS N THE WEBSITE IS REALLY HELPING US
November 18th, 2010 at 4:54 pm
As a child in mexico, our town of Maravatio Michoacan, would have wonderful Christmas celebrations. The whole town would join in las posadas, that would start at the church and end in the house of a member of the church adult group. they would set put the bed of a truck with mary and joseph and the whole town would go in a procession asking for shelter singing the posada song. until the virgin Mary would arive at the designated house, and the doors openned,and the whole procession would come in for ponche(a hot drink made of many different fruits) Tamales, posole or what ever was selected to be serve. Than 5 or 6 piñatas would be broken, and a fogata was started to play games and keep warm. I had the best time as a child in december in my home town in Mexico. I wish we would keep more of those traditions here in the states a little more.
December 1st, 2010 at 8:44 pm