Christmas In Mexico

Rosca Cake

The Traditions of Posada and Rosca

Christmas in Mexico is celebrated from December 12th through January 6th. During this time the children perform the “Posada” which honors Joseph and Mary looking for a room at the Inn. The children are given candles and go caroling. The children are told there is no room in the house and that they must go away. Eventually they get to a home and are told there is room and are welcomed in! When the children go into the house they say prayers of thanks and then they have a party with food, games and fireworks. The big main presents are given to the children at Epiphany, and have been brought to them by the Three Kings.

A different home hosts a party each night where a pinata is filled with sweets and hung from the tree to be swatted at by children that have been blind-folded. The final host home is where the baby Jesus has been found, and he is finally laid to rest in his manger, then the families go to midnight church services.

All over the country, in every city and in every little town, bakeries offer the Rosca de Reyes, an oval sweetbread, decorated with candied fruit on top. The dried and candied fruits that adorn the bread symbolize the jewels on the crowns of the Kings,  There are Roscas of all sizes, very small ones for two or three people and up to the ones that will delight more that twenty people.

Hidden inside this delicious Rosca, a plastic figurine of the Baby Jesus. The Baby is hidden because it symbolizes the need to find a secure place where Jesus could be born, a place where King Herod would not find Him. Each person cuts a slice of the Rosca . The knife symbolizes the danger in which the Baby Jesus was in.  This is also the day the special cake is eaten. A figure of Baby Jesus is hidden inside the cake. Whoever has the baby jesus in their piece of cake is the Godparent of Jesus for that year.  

  Merry Christmas in Mexico is said “Feliz Navidad!”

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