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Twelfth Night: la Noche de Reyes
On Jan 6th children wake up to find toys & gifts left by the Magi. Rosca de Reyes is a crown-shaped bread decorated with candied fruit. Each person cuts their own slice. The ones who find tiny baby dolls in their slices are the godparents and host Candlemas: El Día de Candelaría, when the holiday season ends. “At the time of the birth of the Christ Child, Jewish tradition and law forbade women access to the Temple for 40 days after the birth of a child. Mary and Joseph would have presented the Baby Jesus, the Child God in the Temple then on February 2.” – Judy King | The Christmas season is sunny in México and begins on December 3rd with the Nine Fiestas of the Sun celebrating the virgin birth of the sun god Huitzilopchtli [pron. wee-tsee-loh-ponch 'tee] culminating December 24th. December 12th is La Patrona, the Feast of the Aztec Mother Goddess Tontanslin [pron. toh-nahn-teen], The Virgin of Guadalupe, La Morenita Bella: Dark Beauty, Queen of the Americas, who is haloed in sun rays. Her temple is at Tepeyac. She produced Castillian roses and her cloth image for Bishop Juan Diego on December 12, 1531. Las Posadas: The Inns, are nine consecutive days of candelight processions beginning on December 16. Children reenact the holy family’s quest for lodging in Belen: Bethlehem. A tiny Virgin Mary riding a burro, Saint Joseph, child angels, Three Kings, shepherds & shepherdesses carrying paper lanterns called faroles are refused at two houses and are invited in at the third. A piñata: clay pot covered with colorful paper-mâché and/or feathers suspended from a rope is filled with fruits, sugar cane, peanuts & candies. Children are blindfolded and attempt to hit the piñata with a stick. Once it is smashed the children eat the food . A Nativity scene is displayed in the front of homes with figurines of the Holy Family, Angel, Magi, ox, ass, shepherds, cellophane waterfall, cacti, palm trees, houses, livestock, fire-breathing serpent, colored sawdust, mosses, lights, papel roca: rock-colored paper, Lucifer. Copal incense is burned and a branch from the copal tree is put into the scene. The Nahuatl Cuetlaxochitl: Star Flower of Purity [kweht-lah-soh'-cheetl] is called poinsetta Catarina: Catherine or Flor de Noche Buena: Flower of the Good Night. Cuitlaxochitl leaves can be creamy white, salmon pink, scarlet, variegated or double blooms and surround a yellow blossom. Leaves are used to stimulate heart circulation and as a poultice for skin infections. The red leaves are also a dye. Foods: After Misa del Gallo: Midnight Rooster Mass, tamales: a main dish wrapped in ma’z-corn pancakes sealed with corn husks and atole: a maíz gruel are eaten. Drinks are Ponche: hot fruit punch, hot chocolate made from amaxocaltl: cocoa beans & sidra: sparkling cider. Bacalao a la vizcaína: Biscayan cod and revoltijo de romeritos: wild greens in mole sauce are specialties. Gifts are opened and children who have asked for gifts from the Holy Child are given piñatas and luces de Belen: sparklers. December 25th is a day of rest. On December 28th: Holy Innocents’ Day a Fool Saint is elected. A friend can be asked to lend cash or an object. If fooled, the victim is given candy or a gift. (16, 17, 18) |