Christmas in
Mexico
Celebrated: December 16 to January 6 (with Three Kings Day on January 6)
Signature traditions
- 1.Las Posadas — nine nights of processions reenacting Mary and Joseph's search for shelter, ending December 24
- 2.Breaking a star-shaped piñata at gatherings, traditionally with seven points representing the seven deadly sins
- 3.Misa de Gallo (Rooster's Mass) at midnight on Christmas Eve
- 4.Lighting luminarias along walkways — paper bags weighted with sand, with a candle inside
- 5.Three Kings Day (Día de los Reyes) on January 6 — when most children receive their gifts
What's on the table
Tamales, bacalao, and ponche
Christmas Eve dinner often features tamales, bacalao (salt cod stew), romeritos (greens with mole), and ponche navideño — a hot fruit punch with sugarcane and cinnamon.
The iconic decoration
Nacimiento and poinsettias
The nacimiento (nativity scene) is more central than the tree in many homes. Poinsettias — known locally as flores de Nochebuena — are everywhere; the plant is native to Mexico.
How gifts are given
Most children receive gifts on January 6 from the Three Kings, who leave them in shoes left out the night before. Some families also exchange gifts on Christmas Eve.
Did you know?
The poinsettia's association with Christmas began in 16th-century Mexico, where a legend tells of a poor girl whose roadside weeds bloomed into red flowers when she presented them at a Christmas Eve service.