{"id":12106,"date":"2018-12-13T09:00:52","date_gmt":"2018-12-13T14:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/?p=12106"},"modified":"2018-12-07T05:27:20","modified_gmt":"2018-12-07T10:27:20","slug":"holiday-traditions-in-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/holiday-traditions-in-mexico\/","title":{"rendered":"Holiday Traditions in Mexico"},"content":{"rendered":"

The holidays are upon us! December is filled with so many festivities and traditions around the world, and Mexico is no exception. In this post, I will cover just a few of the traditions that some people observe such as\u00a0posadas, ponche, los villancicos,\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0el nacimiento.<\/em><\/p>\n

Guadalupe-Reyes<\/h3>\n

The party marathon that stretches from December 12 to January 6th is nicknamed the\u00a0Guadalupe-Reyes.\u00a0<\/em>These are intense weeks of celebration with lots of food, drinks, and family. December\u00a012 is the birthday of the\u00a0patrona\u00a0<\/em>of Mexico,\u00a0la Virgen de Guadalupe.\u00a0<\/em> Her birthday is a huge celebration throughout the country and many people, nicknamed\u00a0Guadalupanos,<\/em> do a pilgrimage from all over the country to her church in Mexico City named\u00a0La Basilica de Guadalupe.\u00a0<\/em>When I was young, Christmas did not officially begin until after December 12 as a sign of respect for the virgin. This has changed and Christmas decorations are up at the beginning of December.<\/p>\n

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Photo taken by Joaqu\u00edn Mart\u00ednez found on Flickr.com with license CC BY 2.0<\/p><\/div>\n

In this marathon, Reyes,\u00a0<\/em>are the three wise men or the\u00a0reyes magos<\/em> as they are called in Spanish. On January 6th, the\u00a0reyes\u00a0<\/em>bring kids presents, kind of like Santa Claus. Santa Claus is quite a young tradition in Mexico. In my mom’s time, baby Jesus would bring you a present on the eve of December 24th.\u00a0Nowadays, most families are visited by Santa Claus and then again by the\u00a0Reyes Magos,\u00a0<\/em>when the holidays are officially\u00a0concluded.<\/p>\n

Posadas<\/h3>\n

The official\u00a0posada<\/em> season begins on December 16, however, nowadays, the word is used to just mean any holiday party.\u00a0Posada<\/em> literally means an inn and the idea is that people recreate the scenes of Mary and Joseph asking for shelter before the birth of Jesus. Two people dress up as Mary and Joseph while others act as the\u00a0hosteleros\u00a0<\/em>or the owners of the posada. People walk around singing\u00a0villancicos<\/em> (Christmas songs) until, in the end, Mary and Joseph are let in. One of the most common\u00a0villancico<\/em>\u00a0is below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Los Peregrinos<\/td>En el nombre del cielo,
\nyo os pido posada,
\npues no puede andar,
\nmi esposa amada.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Los Hosteleros<\/td>Aqu\u00ed no es mes\u00f3n,
\nsigan adelante,
\nno les puedo abrir,
\nno vaya a ser un tunante.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Los Peregrinos<\/td>No sean inhumanos
\nDennos caridad
\nQue el dios de los cielos
\nSe lo premiar\u00e1.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Los Hosteleros <\/td>Ya se pueden ir,
\ny no molestar
\nPorque si me enfado
\nLos voy a apalear<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Los Peregrinos<\/td>Venimos rendidos
\nDesde Nazaret
\nYo soy carpintero
\nDe nombre Jos\u00e9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Los Hosteleros<\/td>No me importa el nombre
\nD\u00e9jenme dormir
\nPues yo ya les digo
\nQue no hemos de abrir<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Los Peregrinos<\/td>Posada le pido,
\namado casero,
\npues madre va a ser,
\nla reina del cielo<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Los Hosteleros<\/td>Pues si es una reina,
\nquien lo solicita,
\n\u00bfc\u00f3mo es que de noche
\nanda tan solita?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Los Peregrinos<\/td>Mi esposa es Mar\u00eda
\nReina del cielo
\nY madre va a ser
\nDel divino verbo<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Los Hosteleros<\/td>Eres t\u00fa Jos\u00e9
\nTu esposa es Mar\u00eda
\nEntren peregrinos
\nNo los conoc\u00eda<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Los Peregrinos<\/td>Dios pague se\u00f1ores
\nNuestra caridad
\nY os colme el cielo
\nDe felicidad<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Todos<\/td>Dichosa la casa
\nQue abriga este d\u00eda
\nA la virgen pura
\nLa hermosa Mar\u00eda.
\nEntren Santos Peregrinos,
\nReciban este rinc\u00f3n,
\nque aunque es pobre la morada,
\nos la doy de coraz\u00f3n.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Comida<\/h3>\n

The most important part of the celebration:\u00a0la comida.\u00a0<\/em>There are several traditional dishes that people eat during the holidays. I will name just a few in this section.<\/p>\n

Churros y bu\u00f1uelos<\/em><\/h4>\n

The cooler evenings call for some comfort food and nothing says comfort quite like\u00a0churros<\/em> and\u00a0bu\u00f1uelos.\u00a0<\/em>Because\u00a0churros\u00a0<\/em>are a lot more common, I will focus on describing bu\u00f1uelos.\u00a0<\/em>These are basically a dough mix with anise that is flattened like a tortilla and then fried. It is topped with cinnamon and sugar and is a common treat in markets.<\/p>\n

Romeritos<\/em><\/h4>\n

Romeritos\u00a0<\/em>are quite common during Christmas dinner, and, from what I gather from my grandmother, are quite tedious to make. The dish consists of a spring of a plant called Suaeda plant covered in mole sauce and accompanied with a shrimp pattie. The video below explains where and when this plant is grown.<\/p>\n