If you are visiting Puerto Vallarta over the Christmas season you can expect to trade in cold weather and snowed-in streets for sunshine, ocean breezes, and swaying palm trees. But you don’t need cold weather to be festive for the holidays and here are a few of the most common Christmas traditions in Mexico.
Posadas: meaning “inn” or “shelter” in Spanish, in this celebration, the Bible story of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem and their search for a place to give birth is recreated. The festive celebrations take place on each of the nine nights leading up to Christmas and include signing, breaking piñatas, eating tamales, and drinking Ponche, a traditional fruit punch.
Piñatas: not just for birthday parties, piñatas are commonplace at Christmas parties and stuffed with traditional Mexican candies, small toys, and chocolate coins.
Poinsettias: called “Noche Buenas” in Spanish, these festive plants are native to southern Mexico and their use in cultural celebrations dates back to the Aztecs who called these festive plants “Cuetlaxochitl”. Try saying that three times quickly!
Tamales: a traditional Mexican meal served over the holidays, tamales consist of masa (corn dough) stuffed with chicken or pork stew, peppers, cheese, or fruits, and wrapped up in a corn husk.
Nativity Scenes: though midnight mass will be observed in homes rather than church this year, many Mexican families and businesses will have their own nativity scene recreating the Holy family, angels, and shepherds, like in many parts of the world, but in Mexico, the Three Kings are not added to the nativity until January 6th, to mark the Epiphany or Día de Reyes, as it is known in Mexico.
Painted Tin Ornaments: though Christmas trees are not as common in Puerto Vallarta as in other parts of the world, many still decorate using traditional Mexican tin ornaments. Colorful and in endless arrays of colors and designs, these pretty decorations are great keepsakes of your time in Mexico
To all of our guests visiting our luxury vacation rentals in the Puerto Vallarta Romantic Zone this month, and to all of our visitors both past and future, the Pinnacle Resorts staff wishes you the best of the holiday season. May it be as merry and bright as a sunny Puerto Vallarta day.
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Photo by Jessica Fadel on Unsplash
