Holiday Festivities

For those unfamiliar with Mexican holidays hopefully the following will be helpful. I find the holiday season in Tijuana an especially enjoyable time of the year...and hope you do too.

On the night of December 11th every year in Tijuana there are fireworks and a parade honoring the Virgin of Guadalupe who is the patron saint of Mexico (and all the Americas). The parade strikes me as a mixture of Catholic and pre-Christian practices. There is a large image of the Virgin of Guadalupe on a flat bed truck hauled through the streets that is the center piece of the parade. There are also dancers dressed in Aztec costumes with flutes and drums performing pre-Columbian Aztec dances.

The fireworks are extensive. A person standing on the truck hauling the Virgin of Guadalupe image through the streets periodically leads the crowd in shouts such as Viva la Virgin de Guadalupe and Viva Mexico. Thus the mood of the people is a mixture of religious fervor, patriotism, and merry making.

In a traditional Posadas Navideña (Christmas procession) which are held between December 16th and December 26th people dressed like pilgrims (with a couple often representing Joseph and Mary with the woman riding a burro) go door to door of those invitied to the party asking for shelter. After refusing shelter the family joins the procession moving from house to house until they collect all invited to the party and arrive at the place where the party is to be held. While traditional Christmas Processions (Posadas Navideñas) are few and far between in Tijuana there are lots of Christmas parties in Tijuana (usually called Posadas) where people get together for drinking, dancing, and making merry.

 

In Mexico, Christmas holiday festivities culminate on Noche Buena (Christmas Eve) with the celebration of a late-night Misa de Gallo (Rooster's Mass). Afterwards families head home for a traditional Christmas supper which may feature homemade tamales and atole (corn gruel) or other regional dishes.  December 25th is set aside as a day to rest and enjoy that universal holiday bonus--el recalentado (leftovers, literally the reheated).

In Tijuana children typically receive gifts from Santa Claus on Christmas. However, many parts of Mexico still adhere to the tradition that gifts are given to children by the three wise men/three kings on January 6th, the day of the Epiphany. (The day Catholic tradition says the identity of Christ was reveled to the Gentiles).

 

New Year’s Eve (Víspera de Año Nuevo) is the most celebrated holiday in Mexico.  It is celebrated in Mexico, much as it is in the United States, with parties, drinking, and dancing. The celebrations continue well into the wee hours of New Year’s Day.  In Mexico one says “Feliez Año” to wish somebody “Happy New Year.” One often adds ¡Y un próspero Año Nuevo! (And a Prosperous New Year), which is the English equivalent of “And a Happy New Year.

 

It is customary, especially for those celebrating New Year’s Eve with family and friends, to eat twelve grapes at midnight with the chime of the clock—one grape for each month in the coming year. This is thought to bring luck in the coming year, although the practice is rooted more in tradition than in superstition. (The custom is similar to the custom of making a wish while blowing out the candles on a birthday cake.) One makes a wish with each of the twelve grapes that one eats. A sweet grape means it will be a good month and a sour grape a bad month, so it is best to eat seedless grapes.

 

Different color clothing is worn, especially by women, as a way of wishing for something in the coming year. For example, a chica wanting a boyfriend might wear a red blouse or red underwear.  On New Year’s Eve Mexicans often engage in symbolic acts that indicate their hopes for the coming year. For example, a person wanting to take a trip might pack a suitcase—and even go so far as to carry it around the block.

On the January 6th Dia de los Reyes Magos (Day of the Magi Kings) holiday people get together to drink hot chocolate and eat a bread wreath call rosca de rey. Baked within the rosca de rey is a coin or plastic doll representing the baby Jesus. The sharp knife cutting the bread symbolizes the danger he faced at his birth. Whoever gets the doll or coin is expected to host a fiesta on the February 2nd Candlemas Day (Día de la Candelaria) holiday. Thus you see why I say the holiday season lasts until February 2nd.

The long holiday season results in a vacation exodus of sex workers (especially street girls) that starts before the December 12th Virgin of Guadalupe festival. Many chicas do not return until after the February 2nd Candlemas Day (Día de la Candelaria) holiday.Some will wait for warm weather to return as they find Tijuana unbearably cold during the winter. (Plus, of course, some will get pregnant, get married, etc. and will not return).

 
Happy Holidays!