Hispanic Public Relations Blog

There are certain Christmas traditions that almost all Americans share, like putting up a Christmas tree, waiting for Santa Claus, and opening up gifts on December 25.  However, there’s more to the story than that for many of the nation’s Hispanics.  Although they share in these celebrations, other traditions also play a part in Hispanic Christmas holidays.

Given that 68 percent of America’s Hispanics claim a Roman Catholic background , many Hispanic Christmas celebrations have some root in Catholicism.  These include las posadas, a re-enactment of Mary and Joseph’s pilgrimage to Bethlehem before the birth of Jesus.  Also, there are the family get-togethers on Christmas Eve and midnight church services, and the celebration of the Three Kings Day on January 6, which for many Hispanics is the official end of the Christmas season.

Las Posadas, or “the inns,” are a big part of Hispanic Catholic culture, especially among those of Mexican heritage.  The tradition is that a group of children and adults re-enact the pilgrimage of Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem.  Children dress up as Joseph and Mary, shepherds and other biblical characters.  Like trick-or-treaters walking the town, the group walks by candlelight to a local home, where they sing to the owner or the “innkeeper” asking for a place to stay for the night.  Then, the owners open their door to the group and host a big dinner for everyone, along with a piñata party for the children.  (The old game of hitting a piñata while blindfolded actually has religious connotations. )

In some cultures, a posada is done every night of the nine nights before Christmas.  Some say that number symbolizes the nine months Jesus spent in the womb, or Joseph and Mary’s nine-day journey to Bethlehem.  While the number of nights differs among Latino cultures, the basic ritual of the journey and celebration remains the same.

Another common celebration among Hispanics is an extended family get-together on Christmas Eve, the Nochebuena.  For many, this night is even more important than Christmas morning.  After a large family meal of pork, beef or turkey among more acculturated families, many Hispanics go to midnight church service, what Catholics call Midnight Mass.  In Spanish, the Christmas Midnight Mass is also known as La Misa De Gallo, “Mass of the Rooster,” after the legend that a rooster crowed at the hour of Jesus’ birth.

Santa Claus is as popular in most of Latin America as he is in North America.  However, for many Latinos, Santa’s gifts on December 25 aren’t the last gifts of Christmas.  On January 6, Three Kings Day, Hispanics celebrate the Biblical visit of the three kings to the newborn Jesus.  Parents give their children gifts and candies on Kings’ Day, just as the three kings gave gifts to Joseph and Mary for their new child.  Many Hispanic children know the three kings by name and wait for their arrival as eagerly as other children wait on Santa Claus.  Just as some children leave cookies for Santa, on the evening of January 5, children leave candy for the kings and hay and water for the camels they rode in on.

These traditions aren’t done instead of putting up a tree and waiting for Santa.  Rather, they are done along with those mainstream traditions, adding creativity and playfulness to the holiday.  The vibrancy of these Hispanic Christmas traditions shows that Hispanics can adapt to American culture without having to put their previous culture aside.  Instead, the preservation of those traditions helps enrich their lives in America.

Tags: Christmas, culture, Hispanic, HispanicPR, Holiday, Latino, Nochebuena, Posada, Tradition

This entry is filed under Christmas, Hispanic, HispanicPR, Holiday, Latino, Mexican, Nochebuena, Posada, Tradition, culture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.