CHRISTMAS IN MEXICO
By Allan Wall
December
17, 2008
NewsWithViews.com
It’s
that time of year again – Christmas in Mexico.
The worldwide diversity of Christmas in its various cultural forms is
an interesting study. The essence of the holiday – a celebration
of the incarnation and birth of Jesus Christ – is the same throughout
Christendom. The holiday has a real power to inspire art, literature
and folk customs, and express itself in various manners in diverse cultures.
Real celebrations come from the people, and are not imposed by governments
to promote an agenda. In Mexico, Christmas is a true folk celebration.
Mexican Christmas customs are an eclectic mixture of the old and the
new, including elements from Europe, elements developed in Mexico, and,
in recent years, elements borrowed from the U.S.A.
One prominent aspect of the Mexican Christmas season is the widespread
use of the nacimiento –the crèche or nativity scene. It
is often more elaborate than those used in the United States. Its ceramic
figurines includes interesting elements such as the nopal cactus , hermits
and ducks. (I’ve even seen ducks with halos!). My Mexican wife
has fond memories of the nacimiento which belonged to her late grandmother.
In northern Mexico, the traditional gift-giving occasion is the night
of December 24th-25th. Traditionally, in southern Mexico, the principal
gift-giving date is January 6th, Epiphany, or more commonly Day of the
Magi Kings, commemorating the presentation of the gifts by the wise
men to the Baby Jesus
The piñata , suspended in mid-air and whacked with a stick until
it breaks, is probably the most famous Mexican Christmas custom. Besides
Christmastime, the piñata is used throughout the year at children’s
birthday parties,
In the U.S., the most famous piñata is in the form of a donkey,
but nowadays a piñata might be in any form. For example, you
might see a Bart Simpson piñata or a Spiderman piñata.
The traditional piñata used at Christmastime is a ball with spikes.
In Spanish colonial times a piñata in the form of a big ball
(representing Satan) with 7 spikes (representing the 7 capital sins)
was used by the friars as a teaching device. Thus, breaking the piñata
represented defeating Satan.
Another Christmas custom is the posada, which superficially bears some
resemblance to the Christmas caroling custom practiced in English-speaking
countries. However, the singing in the posada is a ritualized musical
drama . The people outside sing the part of Mary and Joseph , the people
inside sing the part of the innkeeper, and finally those outside are
invited inside for the party .
The Mexican pastorela is a genre of Christmas play. Its roots go back
to the mystery and morality plays of medieval Spain . The pastorela
focuses on the shepherds, pastor being the Spanish word for shepherd.
In the pastorela , the shepherds hear from the angel about the Christ
Child, and they set out for Bethlehem to see Him. Along the way they
encounter the Devil, who puts various temptations in their path to prevent
their arrival at the manger. Each shepherd is tempted by a particular
sin. But they resist the temptations and at the end of the play, they
reach the Christ Child.
In more recent years, Gringo customs such as Santa Claus and Christmas
trees have been adopted in Mexico. Actually they have been assimilated
quite well into the culture.
During the season, stores do a brisk business in Christmas trees. I
recall one December in Mexico City, seeing a gigantic artificial Christmas
tree in the Zocalo (the main Mexico City plaza ).
Santa Claus is well-known in Mexico now, and many small children eagerly
await his annual visit.
One
curious result of the adoption of Christmas customs from the U.S. is
seeing snow-related decorations in regions of Mexico where it hardly
ever snows.
Just as in the U.S.A. (and maybe everywhere it’s celebrated) Christmas
is very commercialized in Mexico. But maybe that’s inevitable,
because the main reason it’s commercialized is the holiday is
important to people.
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As
long as you remember the real reason for Christmas, and as long as you
don’t go into debt buying presents, that can be a very good thing.
It’s certainly good for the commercial economy. In fact, a lot
of stores do a big share of their business during the season.
In conclusion, allow me to wish all the readers of News With Views a
hearty Merry Christmas, or as they say in Mexico –
"FELIZ NAVIDAD"
