‘Tis the season … for piñatas, one of Mexico’s favorite symbols of the holidays.
To keep up with the demand, there are neighborhood piñata makers in every village who create all sizes, shapes and designs of piñatas, the ultimate focal point and anticipated game at every party.
Most modern piñatas are shaped into the year’s most popular cartoon heroes – Disney princesses, TV characters and barnyard animals. Every December those designs take a back seat to holiday-themed confections that include shepherds and lambs, decorated trees, snowmen, Santa Claus, and even the devil who lurks in area nativity scenes.
The Christmas favorite is the centuries-old traditional Sputnik-like style with five to seven points. The cantero (interior clay jar) is covered with rows of fringed tissue paper and fluttering tassels dangle from shiny cone-shaped points.
Although the piñata originated in China, the traditional party favorite traveled along the trade routes to Italy where it was called la pigata (the pineapple). It gained popularity across Europe just in time for Spanish Franciscan missionaries to bring the tradition of the simple clay jar covered with layers of colorful papel de China (tissue paper) to the new world to demonstrate a morality lesson.
As those early Franciscan monks explained, the decorated clay jar represents Satan who all too often wears an attractive mask to attract and mislead humans.
Other symbols said to be hidden in the tradition of the piñata include:
- The seven points of the star-shaped piñata represent the seven deadly sins.
- The candy in the piñata’s inner clay pot symbolize the pleasures Satan offers man to attract him to the underworld.
- The blindfolded child represents faith, which must be blind, and is guided only by the voices of others to destroy evil.
- The stick used to break the piñata represents goodness.
- The breaking of the piñata symbolizes the triumph of good over evil.
- The shower of candy and fruit is indicative of the unknown joys and rewards which the good and faithful will receive in Heaven.
At Christmas posadas and other parties, handmade piñatas are filled with candy and fruit and then fastened onto a system of ropes and pulleys strung over the street or in a garden. An adult takes charge of the pulley to manipulate the piñata, keeping it just out of reach of the blindfolded child.
The sight of a piñata swinging low and scraping the street as the child spins from the force of a high swing delights those awaiting their turn. Just as the hitter stumbles over the piñata and takes a mighty low swing, the rope is jerked and the piñata is suddenly dangling high over his head.
While the children take turns trying to break the decorated clay jar, the assembled crowd shrieks encouragement and assistance. Instead of directing the designated hitter with “left, left” or “right, right,” the savvy observers give directions to the blindfolded child by naming the towns to the east and west. At Ajijic parties they cry out, “Chapala!” “No, no, Jocotepec, Jocotepec.”
One candy-filled piñata is never enough for even the smallest event. Local tradition demands at least three. Larger kids wait while the smallest children try to break the first piñata. Succeeding piñatas are assigned to the older girls and then the next is reserved for the boys.
When the treats spill onto the cobblestones, the children scramble for the candy. Except, of course, when the piñata has fallen from the ropes and is unbroken. That’s when one child in the pack makes a break for it, tucking the remains of the piñata and all of the candy under his arm as he sprints as though headed for the end zone and the winning touchdown.
A surprise variation is when the first of the boys’ piñatas is filled with flour mixed with a few coins. Watching them sputter and wipe the flour from their faces so they can find the money among the cobblestones is an experience as delightful as the tradition itself.