Feliz Navidad from Mexico

In Baja, Christmas reigns supreme as the Navidad holiday and Santa Claus is well know to the Niños of the region. The holiday season in Mexico begins with Dia de Guadalupe on December 12 and ends with the Day of the Kings (Dia de Los Reyes) on January 6.

Basically between the dates of 15th of December to about January 15th Mexico is closed for doing business. Yes of course banks and some government offices are open but you will not find most of the executives, managers or bosses around to make decisions. So if you need to get something done at a government office, bank, notary or need a major decision maker's help in a business w suggest you attempt to do this before the 15th of December.

Dia de Guadalupe begins the season of Posadas. Posadas are Christmas parties for family, friends and co-workers through the season. Originally, the tradition represented the quest of Mary and Joseph looking for lodging. The party traveled from one home to the next, enjoying the hospitality each stop.

These Posadas or festivities will continue on through the last day of the Christmas holiday,known as the Epiphany or Three Kings day, January 6th. The more traditional Posada generally begins as a candlelight processions which then end into all night fiestas that continue on for nine days until Christmas. In a few remaining traditional hold-out areas of Mexico they still re-enact the Holy families search for food and lodging in Bethlehem on each of these days.

In Northern European cultures January 6 is also known as Twelfth Night. Eastern Christian Cultures in the Greek and Russian Orthodox Church celebrate the day as that of Jesus's baptism, and the beginning of his adult ministry. But the actual function of the holiday is the same for all three Christian sects... "Party is over, get back to work."

Twelfth night in medieval Europe was originally the end mark of All Saints Day Feast, November 1. The date was traditionally a huge pre-Christian festival of harvest, absorbed by the spread of Catholicism across Europe. Festivals events were big money makers for the local church diocese, but landowners and employers wanted a marked end to revelry, which otherwise could linger on for weeks. When Christmas eclipsed All Saints Day as a never ending festival, the holiday practice was moved and became the 12th day of Christmas or the Epiphany, where the Baby Jesus was presented in temple. Southern European countries, such as Spain, kept the more ecclesiastical link to the holiday, and when Christmas, was moved to December as the day the Three Kings arrived to present their gifts. Although the origin of the two 12th day of Christmas is very different, both mark the end of the holiday season. In both cultures it was originally bad luck to keep your decorations up after the January 6th.

To date, much of Mexico thinks of Dia de Los Reyes as the day of gift giving, but major marketing and the North American influence has made Santa supreme in Baja. A little over a decade ago Christmas trees remained a rarity in Baja. Many families used the bloom of the Century Plant in the absence of a pine. Today, Christmas tree lots are no longer a rarity from late November until days before Christmas. Lots are usually stripped clean of all but the Charlie Brown trees by mid December.

You will also find these many of the same Christmas decorations, such as ornaments and Christmas lights for the trees and your house like you would find all over the U.S. You will also encounter a great deal of Poinsettias available here in Baja California. That is because the Flor del Noche Buena (poinsettia) originally came from mainland Mexico and has been used to celebrate Christmas for many years.

The Mexicans also create or visit el Nacimiento (nativity scenes) in most towns as well as in many houses with the Holy Family, Reyes del Mágico (3 wise men), angles and animals in a manger. Then on Christmas Eve or Noche Buena as it is called in Mexico, a Baby Jesus always is placed in the manger.

Here in Baja California many of the Mexicans do most of their opIn Baja, Christmas reigns supreme as the Navidad holiday, and Santa Claus is well known to the Niños of the region. The holiday season in Mexico begins with Dia de Guadalupe on December 12 and ends with the Day of the Kings (Dia de Los Reyes) on January 6.

Between the dates of December 15 to about January 15, Mexico is closed for doing business. Yes, banks and some government offices are open, but you will only find some executives, managers, or bosses around to make decisions. If you need to get something done at a government office, bank, or notary or need significant decision-makers help in a business, we suggest you attempt this before December 15.

Dia de Guadalupe begins the season of Posadas. Posadas are Christmas parties for family, friends, and co-workers throughout the season. Initially, the tradition represented Mary and Joseph's quest to find lodging. The party traveled from one home to the next, enjoying the hospitality at each stop.

These Posadas or festivities will continue through the last day of the Christmas holiday, known as the Epiphany or Three Kings day, January 6. The more traditional Posada generally begins as candlelight processions, which end in all-night fiestas that continue for nine days until Christmas. In a few remaining conventional hold-out areas of Mexico, they still re-enact the Holy family's search for food and lodging in Bethlehem each day.

In Northern European cultures, January 6 is known as Twelfth Night. Eastern Christian Cultures in the Greek and Russian Orthodox Church celebrate the day as that of Jesus's baptism and the beginning of his adult ministry. But the actual function of the holiday is the same for all three Christian sects... "Party is over; get back to work."

Twelfth night in medieval Europe was originally the end mark of the All Saints Day Feast, November 1. The date was traditionally a huge pre-Christian harvest festival, absorbed by the spread of Catholicism across Europe. Festivals events were big money makers for the local church diocese, but landowners and employers wanted a marked end to revelry, which otherwise could linger on for weeks. When Christmas eclipsed All Saints Day as a never-ending festival, the holiday practice was moved and became the 12th day of Christmas or the Epiphany, where the Baby Jesus was presented in the temple. Southern European countries, such as Spain, kept the more ecclesiastical link to the holiday, and when Christmas was moved to December as the day the Three Kings arrived to present their gifts. Although the origin of the two 12th Day of Christmas is very different, both mark the end of the holiday season. In both cultures, it was initially bad luck to keep your decorations up after January 6.

To date, much of Mexico observes Dia de Los Reyes as the day of gift giving, but effective marketing and the North American influence have made Santa supreme in Baja. A little over a decade ago, Christmas trees remained a rarity in Baja. Many families used the bloom of the Century Plant in the absence of a pine. Today, Christmas tree lots are now a reality from late November until days before Christmas. By mid-December, lots are usually stripped clean of all but the Charlie Brown trees.

You will also find many of the same Christmas decorations for the trees and your house as you would find all over the U.S. You will also encounter many Poinsettias available here in Baja, California. That is because the Flor del Noche Buena (poinsettia) originally came from mainland Mexico and has been used to celebrate Christmas for many years.

The Mexicans also create or visit el Nacimiento (nativity scenes) in most towns and many houses with the Holy Family, Reyes del Mágico (3 wise men), angles, and animals in a manger. Then on Christmas Eve, or Noche Buena as it is called in Mexico, a Baby Jesus always is placed in the manger.

Here in Baja, California, many Mexicans do most of their opening of gifts on Christmas Eve (Noche Buena) and have large family dinners that last all night in many cases. At the same time, some still prefer to open some or all of their Christmas gifts on Día de Los Reyes.

Another tradition for the Dia del Los Reyes is the eating of the "Rosca de Reyes," a sweetbread cake, ring-shaped, like bunt a cake, with tiny bits of fruit and candy inside. One of the unique traditions of eating this cake is that there is a small plastic doll representing baby Jesus that is hiding for one to find.

The one that receives the baby is responsible for giving a party and has to make the tamales for the Fiesta de la Candelaria on February 2. Dia de la Candelaria is to be considered the last party of the Christmas season.  Leave it to the Mexicans to stretch Christmas to over 2 months of fiestas!

Feliz Navidad y Prospero Ano Nuevo