Christmas Pinatas Are Smashed During the Holiday Season in Mexico: Here’s Why

In Mexico, the holidays are welcomed by smashing open traditional Christmas piñatas. They're made from clay pots or cardboard covered with paper cones and glue.

Once the cones are dry, they are covered in paper mache. Many piñatas are used at community celebrations known as posadas, and they are made at piñata workshops around Mexico City.

Piñatas are broken during the small get-togethers to commemorate Mary and Joseph's search for shelter on Christmas eve before the birth of Jesus Christ. Smashing the piñata at these festivities is highly symbolic: the breaking symbolizes man's struggle to fight temptation and his wish to eliminate evil.

For many, the pinata itself represents Satan. When broken by a stick, which symbolizes virtue, fruit, nuts, or candy fall to the ground reminiscent of grace and God's reward for choosing the right path.

Sometimes the person hitting the piñata blindfolded is a reminder of the person's faith in God's will.

The piñata's origin is unclear. Some say Marco Polo found it on his travels to China, brought it to Europe, and introduced it to Mexico during the Spanish conquest. Others say the tradition stems back to Aztec times, where a clay pot was painted with the face of the God of water. And the pot was filled with water and broken to symbolize a thunderstorm.

Regardless of its origin, the piñata eventually took on religious symbolism and became a way to bring communities together. 

They also became a way to have a little fun.

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