Christmas in Mexico

Come along and uncover the Mexican Christmas

celebrations, and the precious traditions of their culture!

Spanish Christmas Customs That Differ From Those In The U.S.

• Unlike the United States, Mexico Christmases do not consist of snow, snowmen, heavy coats and jolly old St. Nick.

• We do however, share the most essential parts of Christmas. The Nativity scene, attendance of church, parades, and time spent with family and friends are all very important to both the American and Spanish cultures.

• One will agree the best part of both traditions is the break from school and work both students and parents receive.

Noche BuenaChristmas Eve

• The celebration of a late-night Misa de Gallo (Rooster’s Mass) is a candlelight service followed by Christmas dinner.

• Christmas dinner is never eaten until after midnight.

• It is a family feast, and often highlighted with “Pavo Trufado de Navidad”(Christmas turkey with truffles are a mushroom-like delicacy found underground.)

• After the meal, family members gather around the Christmas tree and sing Christmas carols.

• The rejoicing continues through the wee hours of the morning.

NavidadChristmas Day

• Christmas Day is spent at church, at feasts and in celebration.

• A custom peculiar to Mexico is that of “swinging”. Scenes are set up throughout the courtyards and young people swing to the accompaniment of songs and laughter.

• It is not Santa who comes to Mexico bearing gifts, but the Three Wise Men.

• Consequently,a Spanish child’s wish list is directed to el Nino Dias (the Holy Child) for Christmas Eve and the Reyes Magos (Magi) for Three Kings Day.

celebrations of the celebrations of the mexican culturemexican culture

§ -Fiesta for virgin de la soledad§ -Las posadas § -las pastorelas§ -La flor de noche buena§ -Los santos Inocentes§ -Dia de los reyes§ El Nacimiento

Fiesta For Virgin De La Soledad

• This fiesta is for the patron saint of Oaxaca, and begins December 16 and lasts through the 18

• It signals the beginning of the navidad festivities

Las Posadas• One of the most traditional and

widely celebrated customs of the Mexico Christmas is that of Las Posadas.

• Las Posadas, meaning lodge or inn, is a procession in which Mexico’s children gather each afternoon to reenact the holy family’s quest for lodging in Bethlehem.

• Las Posadas begins December 16, and lasts nine consecutive days. It consists of lively parties and candlelight processions.

LAS PASTORELAS

• Pastorelas, or shepard plays, are staged throughout the holiday season by both amateur and professional groups.

• The pastorelas tell of the shepherd’s adoration of the Christ Child. First they are visited in the fields by an angel who annouces the holy birth.

Pastorelas Continued

* As the sheperds attemp to follow the great star leading them to Bethlehem they are plagued by a series of evils and misadventures provoked by the Devil

* *********************************

* But in the finale, good triumphs over evil and the shepherds reach their intended destination

EL NACIMIENTO (The Nativity Scene)

• In most Mecican homes the principal holiday adornment is el Nacimiento.

• The focal point, naturally, is a stable where clay or plaster figurines of the Holy Family are sheltered.

• The scene may also include an angel, Los Reyes Magos (the Magi), the ox and the mule, as well as shepards and their flocks.

• It is not unusual to also find the forces of evil represented by a serpent and a grotesque Lucifer lurking in the shadows.

• The scene is not complete until Christmas Eve when the newborn Baby jesus is finally laid in the manger bed.

La Flor De Noche Buena

• In English this represents the holiday bloom called the Poinsettia.

• It was name after Dr. Joel R. Poinsett, a U.S. diplomat who served as Minister to Mexico in the 1820s.

Los Santos Inocentes

• Los Santos Inocentes is celebrated on December 28th, and in English is pronounced Day of the Holy Innocents.

• It is a religious commemoration of King Herod ordering the slaughter of all male infants in his kingdom, intending to include the Christ Child.

• This day falls on January 6th.

• This was the traditional time to celebrate the gift giving aspect of Christmas throughout Mexico.

• Now the holiday coincides with the day of celebration north-of-the-border: December 25. Now, many children expect gifts on both days.

Three Kings Day-Epiphany

FELIZ NAVIDAD y PROSPERO ANO

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