Maria's Christmas in Mexico!

Hi, my name is Maria! In Mexico we get a head start celebrating Christmas on December 16th!

In my town, we begin celebrating the Christmas season with 9 posadas, stretching from December 16 to the 24th. Posadas are nightly parties which are usually organized by the whole community. The posadas are reenactments of Joseph and Mary's pilgrimage on their way to Bethlehem. This year, I will dress up as Mary along with my brother dressed as Joseph in search for lodging. We head a parade of people as we walk from house to house searching for a place to stay. We sing traditional songs to ask for "posada", or lodging. I guess you can say a posada is a cross between street theatre and a party.

On the final posada, everyone is let inside for a fiesta! Everyone in my neighborhood takes turns in being the hosting house for Joseph and Mary. When they agree to let us in, we get to have Ponche, a hot fruit drink and Tamales, which are mild corn dumplings with various fillings. My grandma makes the best tamales! And the best part? We get to break a Piñata full of candy!

Nochebuena, or Christmas Eve is an important family reunion. We usually have a late dinner with all the fixings! At midnight, we meet our neighbors at church for the Misa de Gallo, or simply midnight mass, to celebrate the birth of Jesus. I wake up early the next morning to open presents!

But the celebration isn't over just yet! On January 6th, we celebrate the arrival of the Three Kings, or Los Reyes Magos. Usually, some presents are left over to open on this day! My family also gets together to share the Rosca de Reyes, which is a traditional wreath shaped bread, and is served with hot chocolate. Each person takes a turn at cutting the rosca, which contains small baby figurines. This is the only time I'm allowed to play with my food!

Whomever gets the baby figurine invites everyone over on February 2nd for Candelaria Day where we get to take the decorations down along with the nativity scene, and we get some more food! I can't wait for Christmas this year, it's a big party with lots of food! I hope you have a great holiday season!

Feliz Navidad y Prospero Año Nuevo!
(Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!)

Help decorate for Christmas. Find some coloring pages here!

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