Mexican Christmas Cookbook
In Mexico, Christmas is celebrated from December 12th to January 6th.
From December 16th to Christmas Eve, children often perform the 'Posada' processions or Posadas which is Spanish for Inn or Lodging. There are nine Posadas. These celebrate the part of the Christmas story where Joseph and Mary looked for somewhere to stay. For the Posadas, the outside of houses are decorated with evergreens, moss and paper lanterns.
In each Posada, children are given candles and a board, with painted clay figures of Mary riding on a donkey and Joseph to carry through the streets. They go to each house and sing a song about Joseph and Mary asking for a room in the house. But the children are told that there is no room in the house and that they must go away. Eventually they are told there is room and to come in! When the children go into the house they say prayers of thanks and then they have a party with food, games and fireworks.
Each night a different house holds the Posada party. At the final Posada, on Christmas Eve, a manger and figures of shepherds are put on to the board. When the Posada house has been found, a baby Jesus is put into the manger and then families go to a midnight Church service. After the Church service there are even more fireworks to celebrate the start of Christmas.
One game that is often played at Posada parties is piñata. A piñata is a decorated clay or papier-mâché jar filled with sweets and hung from the ceiling or tree branch. The piñata is a ball with seven peaks around which represent the 'seven deadly sins'. Piñata's can also be in the form of an donkey or bird. Children are blind-folded and take it turns to hit it with a stick until it splits open and the sweets pour out. Then the children rush to pick up as many sweets as they can.
Traditional Mexican Christmas food include sangria, green chile and cheese tamales, chicken pozole verde and bunuelos.
