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lozwich
Joined: 25 May 2003
Posts: 1536
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 Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2005 7:39 pm Post subject: A Mexican Christmas |
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I can't remember if this gets discussed every year, but I was looking at Christmas decorations in the local 'everything cheap and Chinese' shop yesterday and lamenting the absence of the wonderful Christmas decorations available in Mexico.
So, what is your favourite thing about Mexican Christmases?
Mine is definitely those Christmas lights that everyone has that play tinny carols. One of my favourite memories of Christmas in regional Oaxaca is after all the 'las mananitas', furious bell dinging and fireworks every morning at 5am, the town would be completely silent, except for a tinny rendition of 'Silent Night' coming from the light installation on the house next door.
Ah, makes me go all misty... |
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Cdaniels
Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 663
Location: Dunwich, Massachusetts
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| Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2005 11:27 pm Post subject: Santa Claus |
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Has a Jolly Fat Santa Claus in a winter snow suit invaded Mexico on Yuletide? Is there a Mexican version of Saint Nicholas?
Chocolate is my favorite thing in Christmas here, and will probably be my favorite thing about Christmas in Mexico too!  |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2005 11:35 pm Post subject: |
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Mexico City gets a good dose of commercial Christmas, with Santa, reindeer, and the like. It's still more common to come across the three kings of biblical lore...the ones that brought gifts to baby Jesus. Three King's Day (Dia de los Reyes Magos) is January 6th, and the day when many kids get their gifts.
Beyond that, it was a change for me to go from pine trees, quiet frigid nights hip deep in snow to warm, palm tree decorated Xmas in DF. They do sell Canadian Douglas Firs here, but the price is too high.
Loz, my wife has been scouting Xmas decorations for about 6 weeks already now...she's got the Xmas bug too. |
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MELEE
Joined: 22 Jan 2003
Posts: 2583
Location: The Mexican Hinterland
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| Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 3:12 pm Post subject: |
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My favorite thing about Christmas in Mexico is that its the time of year when those small round watermelons with the dark green rinds come in. 
Otherwise I pretty much lament the fact I'm not having a white Christmas. |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 3:17 pm Post subject: |
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Memories are fond, but frozen toes I'm happy to be without. Maybe we'll get some snow in the Ajusco hills again this year. |
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lozwich
Joined: 25 May 2003
Posts: 1536
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| Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 6:03 pm Post subject: |
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Being one who would prefer to live on the sun, I firmly believe that snow is the work of the devil and should be avoided at all costs!
If I can work out the logistics, I shall be sunning myself on the Mexican Pacific coast this Christmas. |
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AjarnErnes
Joined: 26 Jun 2005
Posts: 71
Location: Mexico City, Mexico
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| Posted: Wed Nov 23, 2005 6:50 am Post subject: Christmas |
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Try Christmas in Thailand. I've lived here for 2 1/2 years and Christmas here is just bizaar. It's hot here and Thai people are 95% Buddhist so they don't even know what Christmas is "supposed" to be about.
Remember all those really terrible bright pink and blue aluminum Christmas trees from the 1970s? They all ended up in Thailand.
My school had a Christmas pagent last year. On stage they had Jesus, Santa Clause AND the Easter Bunny.
From Mexico, I miss the round cake on Jan. 6th with the little baby Jesus in it. If your piece of cake has the baby Jesus in it you have to invite everyone over for dinner... or something like that. At least that's how we did it in our family.
ajarnernest |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Wed Nov 23, 2005 4:28 pm Post subject: |
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| From Mexico, I miss the round cake on Jan. 6th with the little baby Jesus in it. If your piece of cake has the baby Jesus in it you have to invite everyone over for dinner... or something like that. At least that's how we did it in our family. |
You ever have to buy or make the tamales for Feb. 2nd? I've never gotten a plastic baby...  |
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thelmadatter
Joined: 31 Mar 2003
Posts: 1212
Location: in el Distrito Federal x fin!
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| Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2005 3:06 pm Post subject: ornaments |
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I collect Christmas tree ornaments, but I havent found much here that I like EXCEPT when I get lucky and find someone (usually a little old lady) selling little wooden ones. Then I buy a whole mess of those. When I lived in Arizona, I would go down to the border town of Nogales and find really interesting ones of barro, tin, glass and other stuff.
Someone told me twice theres a little town around here that makes ornaments but I keep forgetting the name. |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2005 3:23 pm Post subject: |
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| I'm told Texcoco is famous for Xmas ornaments. |
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MELEE
Joined: 22 Jan 2003
Posts: 2583
Location: The Mexican Hinterland
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| Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2005 5:17 pm Post subject: |
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In Oaxaca they make the tin ones.
In Tzintzuntzan, Michoacan they make some cute ones out of the rushes that grow along the lakeshore. |
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Samantha
Joined: 25 Oct 2003
Posts: 2038
Location: Mexican Riviera
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| Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2005 7:47 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| So, what is your favourite thing about Mexican Christmases? |
My favorite thing is the 9 days of Christmas Posadas. They are really big here, and many of them are outdoors. Many Posadas are far from traditional, and are more what you would call an office Christmas party back home. That is one of the benefits (maybe the only one! LOL) of working part-time in several different schools. You get to go to all the Posadas.
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From the website http://www.fiestainmexico.com/#eng
The Traditional "Posadas"
From December 16 through December 24, these parties are celebrated all over Mexico. During nine nights, Mexicans commemorate the story of Mary and Joseph, when they were looking for shelter, just a few days before Jesus' birth. Participants take ceramic figures of Mary and Joseph ("The Pilgrims") in a symbolic manner to be deposited at the home of the Posada host, accompanied with candles and singing the traditional song. Each night ends up with a party at a different house; an important part of the "posada" party is the "pi�ata", a clay or paper pot ornamented with colorful paper on the outside,
filled with candy and fruit. The pi�ata hangs from a rope. Children are blindfolded to hit the "pi�ata" with a stick, until it is broken, the candy and fruit fall to the floor and everyone throw themselves on the ground to pick up the pi�ata's treats.
The origin of this tradition goes back to the time when the Spanish Missionaries covered a pot with colored papers and put seven spikes representing the seven deadly sins, when the pot was broken with the stick, presents and candy fell to the floor as a sort of reward from heaven for breaking the sin.
Epifan�a (The Three Wise Men Day)
On January 6, Mexicans celebrate the day of the Three Wise Men, the Mexican children receive toys and presents on the morning of January 6, and the traditional Wise Men Ring Bread ("rosca de reyes") is eaten, which is a round sponge cake, full of dry fruit which represent the presents given by the Wise Men. Within the "rosca", small figures of Baby Jesus are hidden, and whoever finds a figure must to organize a party on February 2 celebrating that this person was blessed, finding Baby Jesus.
When Jesus was born, the Bethlehem star shone intensely, then the Wise Men upon looking at this sign in the sky, knew that by following it, they would arrive to the place where Baby Jesus had been born, so they decided to go greet him, taking with them three presents to offer him that were gold, incense and myrrh.
Candelaria's Day
On February 2, the fortunate person who found the Baby Jesus figure in the Wise Men Bread (rosca), organizes a party, offering music, tamales
(stuffed corn pie), and atole (Beverage made from corn).
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Can't say as I have ever tasted atole. It is the same as tequino? There's a guy that rides around on a 3 wheeled cart selling tequino. He always asked me, I always politely declined. One day he said "I bet you have never even tried it". I said "I bet I have, and that is why I always say no, gracias"!! There isn't much I don't like in the way of Mexican food and drink, but that would be one thing. That and pulque. Yuck. In Canada's frozen tundra that would make good gasline anti-freeze!  |
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MELEE
Joined: 22 Jan 2003
Posts: 2583
Location: The Mexican Hinterland
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| Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2005 10:19 pm Post subject: |
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I don't know what tequino is--must be a northern thing.
But atole is watery gruel made from any sort of grain. The most traditional is of course corn, but you can make it from oatmeal, wheat, amarath, etc. sometimes its flavored with canela or chocolate or other flavors, sometimes milk is added to the grain, sometimes just water. It's served hot so maybe that's why you don't drink it that much on the coast. One popular comerial one is the corn starch Maizena which comes in many different flavors. I don't really like atole that much, because I don't like thick drinks. But the oatmeal one isn't that bad, and I do admit it really warms you on a cold mountain night. |
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Samantha
Joined: 25 Oct 2003
Posts: 2038
Location: Mexican Riviera
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| Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2005 12:08 am Post subject: |
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Tequino is a corn based drink too. I will have to do a bit of research now, to find out the origin. My favorite drink on the run is horchata, followed by jamaica. Horchata is wheat based, right? It tastes like cinnamon milk to me so I think it is psychological. Especially since they call it "water" 
Last edited by Samantha on Sat Nov 26, 2005 4:07 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Alexanndra
Joined: 11 Oct 2005
Posts: 28
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2005 2:03 am Post subject: |
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| Well, at least in Mexico City, horchata is rice based. I would imagine it is the same everywhere, but who knows! It is SO yummy. |
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