Christmas in Mexico.

Story by Robert Plum | Contributing Writer

Christmas in Mexico is a very exotic way to spend the festive season, and for anyone choosing this kind of holiday, there are a number of things that they will recognize and many that will come as a wholly pleasant surprise. For anyone who has experienced a Spanish Christmas, there will be lots that will be familiar, such as the gifts on Three Kings (Epiphany) in January, but in Mexico the children have presents on Christmas Day as well so they have two days to look forward to.

There are lots of parties, of course, but in Mexico they are more traditional and represent the travels of the Virgin Mary and Joseph as they looked for somewhere to stay. So everyone goes on foot to parties in the neighborhood, which take place mainly in the nine days preceding 25th December. Piñatas, familiar now in the UK at birthday parties, feature very widely in the crib scenes and everything is very colourful, loud and joyful.

By Peasap | Flickr Creative Commons

How to get there

Mexico is surprisingly easy to reach from the UK direct, but changing in Los Angeles makes things easier to arrange as there are far more flights to LA International to choose from than there are direct flights. You only have to go online to see what your options are.Most of the holiday heavyweights such as First Choice and Thomas Cook will be sure to have deals to Mexico.

Christmas in Mexico is celebrated all over the country so really any popular resort would be fine and, if price is an issue, there are many cheaper options when it comes to hotels so you can tailor your holiday to perfection and enjoy Christmas wherever you end up.

With two different climates to choose from–tropical and temperate–your preferred holidaying temperature would be as good a way as any to choose where to go.

Traditions in Mexico

Although you will see some Christmas trees in Mexico, they are relatively unusual and most families decorate their homes with a Nativity scene or crib. These are called Nacimientos and some public places have very beautiful ones on display.

They are set up on the 16th (also the night the posados, the Christmas processions and fiestas begin), the baby Jesus is added overnight on Christmas Eve–this is a magical event that the children love–and then the Three Kings are added on January 5th.

Pastorelas

The pastorelas are great fun and anyone spending Christmas in Mexico should try to catch one of these. They started when the Spanish conquered Mexico in the late 15th century as a way to show the native population all about the story of Christ, but have now become hilarious romps based around the shepherds’ journey to Bethlehem with panto-like demons and a lot of fun. The slapstick doesn’t need language, so anyone can enjoy these performances.

Mexican Food at Christmas

Unlike the UK, where Christmas food is very specifically seasonal, in Mexico the trend is that there is just a lot more of what is usually eaten, except at Epiphany, when the tasty and spicy Rosca de Reyes is eaten. This bread is fruity and rich and has a small figurine baked into it, representing the baby Jesus – whoever gets this in their portion has to provide the tamales for the next party!