Mexican Christmas Traditions

The festival of Christmas is celebrated with festive fervor across the globe. Christmas is all about the evergreen, fresh-smelling Christmas tree, Christmas gifts, well-decorated homes and parties with great food and good Christmas music. Families enjoy get together with friends and extended family. The families get busy in cleaning hose, preparing for the festival traditional food and decorating homes with wreaths, Christmas lights and flowers. Families love to go out and buy a Christmas tree and decorating it. They love to have Christmas feast together. There are various Christmas traditions followed in different parts of the world. The traditions change according to the cultures found in various counties.

Christmas traditions in Mexico have some influence of Spanish culture. Many traditions are similar to Spanish. The celebrations start nine days before the actual day. This celebration is called as La Posada. During these nights, a group of actors enact the scene of Joseph and Mary asking for shelter before Christ's birth. This is performed as a religious procession. The actors go from one house to other asking for shelter. They have images of mother Mary and Joseph in their hands. This is a big event for the people at the start of Christmas holiday season.

The tradition of decorating homes with the flower of poinsettia is seen all over Mexico. The same flowers are offered to Jesus in the church. All Mexicans attend the midnight mass and sing lullabies to Jesus at midnight hour during his birth. The children are given gifts by elders on Christmas day. Traditional food in form of oval sweet bread, hot chocolate, etc. are cooked for the feast and served with desert and fresh fruits. A baby figurine of Christ is worshipped in Mexican homes on Christmas Eve. The Christmas celebrations continue till February 2 in Mexico.

The Mexicans celebrate Christmas with friends and family. All Mexicans go to the church during the Christmas holiday season. Traditionally, large bread in oval shape is baked with dry fruits and sugar. This bread has small figurine of Baby Jesus. The person who gets the piece of bread that has small Jesus has to host the dinner on candle mass day, which falls on 2 February. This day is the end of Christmas celebrations and all the decorations are taken down from the Christmas tree as well as the homes. Tamales is another traditional bread made out of corn with pieces of meat or raisins that is served to guests on Christmas day.

The entire Mexican offices, educational institutes are closed for two weeks of Christmas holiday. They are reopened on January 6 at the end of Christmas celebrations. Every one enjoys the Christmas festival with family. The traditional food, church service and gifts are important things related to Mexican Christmas traditions.