Posts Tagged ‘song’
The Posadas
Posted 18 décembre 2011
on:While we are waiting until Christmas eve to celebrate, the Mexican families are already having fun!
In Mexico, Christmas celebrations begin the 16th at night, and continue until Christmas eve. It is called the posadas, literally « inn » or « hospitality ».
Friends or neighbours gather in front of the house within which the party is going to take place. They start to sing and ask for shelter for the night to the family that is receiving. It symbolises Joseph and Mary’s journey to Bethlehem. Once the song is finished, all the « pilgrims » go inside and the party can start. Everyone drinks and eats the food the family has prepared. The most traditional beverage is a hot fruit-based beverage called ponche.
Then comes the moment to break the piñata. Originally, they were made of a clay pot covered with papier-mâché and crepe paper. The most traditional piñata is shaped like a star with 7 points. The points symbolize the 7 deadly sins. But nowadays, you can find piñatas of various sizes, shapes and colours. Each person in turn is blindfolded and tries to break the piñata with a stick. The rest of the people sing a little song during which the participant has to break the piñata; otherwise, the next person is blindfolded. It goes on until the piñata is finally broken. In order to be sure that the blindfolded person will not break the piñata, the other people shout wrong directions to misguide him/her. In a very sadistic version, the piñata is suspended from a rope that can be easily moved. The person in charge of the rope can then lower, raise, push or pull the piñata. It makes the breaking more interesting but a lot more difficult. Once the piñata is broken, all the children rush below it and try to collect the candy that falls out. If there is a second piñata, the same thing starts over.
The next day, the same party starts over in a different home. Quite often, you can see these parties taking place between neighbours of a whole street. Each day, the hosting family is different, but the people invited remain the same.
If you want to make your own piñata