Mexican-Style Christmas Celebration: Pinata
Tara A. Spears
“I don’t want gold and I don’t want silver…all I want is to break the piñata” Taken from a traditional Mexican piñata song
Gathering family and friends for Posadas is a festive event. While the adults visit and enjoy cerberza, the kids need something special to keep them occupied. Although the origins of the piñata were spiritual, modern piñata game is just for fun. A piñata is a decorated clay or papier-mâché jar filled with sweets and hung from the ceiling or tree branch in order for the children to take turns whopping it with a decorated stick.
The traditional Christmas piñata is decorated something like a ball with seven peaks around it. The peaks represent the ‘seven deadly sins’ (lust, gluttony, greed, laziness, anger, envy, pride.) Today, piñatas reflect the influence of popular culture: they are available in animal, bird, holiday figure or TV character shapes, and especially Disney character for birthday fiestas. To play the game, children are blindfolded, spun in a circle, taking turns to hit the piñata with a stick until it splits open and the sweets pour out. Then the children rush to pick up as many sweets as they can!
Historical records have reported that piñatas may have originated among the Aztecs, Mayans, and other native peoples of Mexico, who made clay pots in the shape of their gods. The pots were meant to be broken forcefully with poles and sticks, so the contents spilled to signify abundance, favors from the gods, etc. This is not as easy as it would appear because often the piñata is made using a clay pot that is the basis for the thin tissue paper.
When the Europeans arrived at the beginning of the 16th century, the Spanish missionaries that went to Mexico took the Indian piñata practice and gave it a religious spin. These evangelists had the daunting goal of changing the Indian population’s belief in many gods ideology to adherence to the single Catholic God. One strategy the friars came up with was to use the piñata to explain the complicated dogmas of sin and the way in which Satan tempts us. The missionaries wanted to teach Indians about how we must be strong to beat the devil and to reap the benefits of heaven. The piñata was a perfect metaphor.
This is a version of the piñata song that is sung in Western Mexico. “¡Dale, dale, dale! no pierdas el tino, porque si lo pierdes, pierdes el camino. Una, dos, tres! Duro….duro! Rompela! Rompela!” (Translation: “”Strike it, Strike it ,Strike it! Don’t lose your aim, because if you lose it, you won’t find your way. One, two, three! Harder! Harder! Break it! Break it!”)
It appears that the missionaries accomplished their goal for Mexico remains predominately religious 600 years later. Even as the country has become more secular in its outlook, Mexicans continue to enjoy the fun and exciting tradition of piñata for any special occasion.
No matter when the piñata is used, no matter what the shape, piñatas are a joyful reminder of Mexican traditions.