What are the celebrations that take place during this wonderful winter season in Tulum and throughout Mexico?
The Mexican festivities` during Christmas and New Year seasons stand out for their great gastronomic diversity, their religiousness, the piñatas full of sweets and fruit, the prayers, the songs, the music and the posadas.
What is a “Posada”?
When we talk about “posadas” in Mexico, we refer to the warm punch, the sugar cane and the fruit, the baskets of sweets, the lights and the piñatas, but this celebration has a religious origin. The posadas arrived with the Spanish conquest, we know that during the pre-Hispanic times the Aztecs celebrated the arrival of their God Huitzilopochtli. This celebration began on December 6, lasting 20 days, during which fruits and standards were hung in the main temple.
The imposition of religious thought and the encounter of two cultures and religious beliefs resulted in festivities and masses that were celebrated 9 days before and were held outdoors where they read religious passages and created representations alluding to Christmas. Today, the pastorelas. It was the faithful followers who rescued her and carried her out in their own homes, thus giving birth to the tradition of the "Posadas".
Currently it is a reason for union for families and friends children, young people and adults come together to “ask for a posada” and celebrate that someone open the doors for them and offer them a place to rest for the night.
Great variety of traditional food, tamales, fritters, punch, candles, sweets, fruits, and breaking the piñatas are some of the most representative elements of a Posada.
Piñatas as a symbol of Mexican culture
One of the most representative and typical elements of the Posadas are the piñatas, well known internationally. Traditional piñatas are filled with sweets, seasonal fruit such as oranges and tangerines, peanuts and sugar cane.
As mentioned above, this holiday is a representation created from the Christian religious beliefs and the beliefs of the Mexican people. They were introduced by the friars, previously they were made from a clay pot with 7 spikes, which represented the deadly sins, when blindfolding, it was alluded to that faith is blind and hitting them destroyed said sins and the sweets and fruit meant the riches of the kingdom of heaven of Christianity.
Today they are made of colored paper with 7 peaks, songs and prayers are made and both children and adults enjoy breaking the piñata and then collecting sweets and fruit to share with friends and family.
Christmas in Tulum
If you are in Tulum during these dates, the center offers a wide variety of restaurants and bars for all tastes, where they offer delicious dinners and drinks specially designed to celebrate this day. In Tulum and Mexico there is a wide variety of dishes that are prepared especially in the month of December, such as Bacalao, Romeritos, Pavo or Guajolote, Atole de maíz y de guava, among many others.
During the Christmas season you will find stalls on the street where you can enjoy a delicious Atole or punch, accompanied by Buñuelos and Tamales. Do not forget to try a delicious craft beer that you can only find at this time : the beer is called "Noche Buena".
And most importantly, enjoy with family and friends the beautiful landscapes and culture of Tulum and its surroundings.