Christmas Tidings
A Christmas Story Article
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Christmas in Old Mexico
from: CTLThe first Christmas in old Mexico was celebrated in 1538 by the Spanish missionary Fray Pedro de Gante. He invited all the Indians for twenty leagues around Mexico City to attend. The Indians loved the new feast day and adopted it adding their own touches of flowers and feathers. Many of Mexico's present day Christmas customs and traditions were originally introduced during the colonial era as a means of teaching Christian morals and the Bible to the Indians.
Scarlet poinsettias, frilly pińatas and gay clusters of balloons, religious banners, images of saints, candlelit processions are all part of the pageantry that are part of the Christmas customs in Mexico. The holiday fiesta lasts for weeks beginning on December 16th when the nine day posada processions start and the Christmas customs of erecting a Christmas manger scene called nacimiento are set up in every home and public square.
The posadas is a nine night series of processions re-enacting Joseph and Mary's journey to Bethlehem. On Christmas Eve, after the last posada is over, everyone goes to a solemn midnight Mass, and Christmas Day is welcomed in with a jubilant medley of bells, whistles and firecrackers.
The devil is not ordinarily associated with Christmas. However in Mexico, Lucifer plays a very solid role in the holiday festivities and Christmas customs. He is actually the star in a special type of drama called pastorela. These plays, usually performed in the afternoon or early evening during the last weeks of December, are a Mexican version of Europe's medieval miracle plays. Pastorela means pastoral, or a play that takes place in the countryside, and concerns the activities of pastore, the shepherds.
The festivities continue with the Day of the Innocents on December 28th, New Year's Eve on December 31st and the Day of the Three Kings on January 6th. One final Christmas celebration on February 2nd called Candlemas winds up the holiday season.
Every region of Mexico celebrates Christmas in its own distinctive way with traditional dances and plays, bullfights, rodeos, parades and special holiday foods. The Christmas observances of today are a sharp blend of Spanish and Indian cultures, a co-mingling of old customs and new variations with the original Christmas roots that date back more than four hundred years. Christmas in Mexico is called Navidad…the nativity.
Many Mexicans will take a vacation during the Christmas season and school children have an extra long holiday. It is a time of togetherness when families and friends gather to visit and share in the festive celebrations and Christmas customs.
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