Piñata a Christmas Tradition - DIY Photo Project

By YourThemeParty

Dec 8, 20152 min read

This time YourThemeParty will show you in photos, step by step how to make a Traditional Mexican Piñata.

The Piñatas are a very old Mexican tradition that’s part of one of the biggest Christmas celebration, the Posadas.

The Piñatas come in differents shapes and sizes, but the most traditional ones are made out of clay, wrapped with paper mache and later on covered with shiny colorful paper. Piñatas are fill of fruits and candies that will fall out when the piñata is finally broken.

ABOUT THE PIÑATAS:

The Aztec tradition commemorated the birthday of Huitzilopochtli. Priests would decorate a clay pot with colorful feathers. When the pot was broken with a stick or club, the treasures inside would fall to the feet of the idol as an offering. According to local records, the piñata was first used for the purposes of evangelism in 1586, in Acolman, in the modern State of Mexico, just north of Mexico City. The Augustinian monks there modified European piñatas and created the Las Posadas tradition to co-opt the celebration of the birth of Huitzilopochtli, which was celebrated in mid December.

The Mexican Catholic interpretation of the piñata rested on the struggle of man against temptation. The seven points represent the seven deadly sins. The pot represents evil and the seasonal fruit and candy inside the temptations of evil. The person with the stick is blindfolded to represent faith. The turning, singing and shouting represent the disorientation that temptation creates. In some traditions, the participant is turned thirty three times, one for each year of Christ's life. These interpretations were given to the piñata for catechism purposes. As the participant beats the piñata, it is supposed to represent the struggle against temptation and evil. When the piñata breaks, the treats inside then represent the rewards of keeping the faith. (wikipedia)