Where is piñata from

When the Spanish conquered America they realized that the indigenous population had a similar tradition. The Aztecs would fill a clay jar with offerings and decorate it with colorful feathers. They would break the jug in celebration of the Aztec God of War Huitzilopochtli. Thus, the Spanish missionaries used this pre-existing tradition to instill a religious conversion.

Blindfolded participants represent Faith, which must be followed blindly. In Mexico , it is traditionally broken during the celebration of the 12 days before Christmas, posadas; an event that re-enacts the plea of Mary and Joseph before the birth of Christ. We and our partners use cookies to better understand your needs, improve performance and provide you with personalised content and advertisements. To allow us to provide a better and more tailored experience please click "OK".

Sign Up. Travel Guides. Videos Beyond Hollywood Hungerlust Pioneers of love. Stephanie Souroujon. The pinata was a clay pot decorated with colored paper and ribbons and the treats inside were considered as a reward for faithful believers.

When the Spanish brought pinatas to Mexico in the 16th Century, they found a similar practice among the Mayas and Aztecs: priests would decorate a clay pot with colorful feathers and beat it to reveal treasures before their god on the divinity's birthday, celebrated in December. This was very helpful for Spanish monks, who started using pinatas for evangelism purposes, associating a star-shaped pinata with the Star of Bethlehem and having kids beat it during Christmas "Posadas".

Posadas are a 9-day period ending on Christmas Eve representing the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem. During this celebration, people meet at different "posadas" or "inns", which are merely friends or relatives homes where the attendees pray, sing Christmas carols and celebrate the upcoming birth of Jesus.

As mentioned before, the fiesta star pinata stood for the star of Bethlehem, which guided The Three Wise Men and shepherds to Jesus's place of birth, who came to worship the baby and bring him gifts. The donkey pinata stands for the "burro" that the expectant mother rode in her journey to Jerusalem. When they knocked the figure hard with sticks of various colors, seeds spilled forth. The remains were then burned and people gathered the ashes to bring good luck throughout the year.

When the custom passed into Europe in the 14th century, it was adapted to the celebration of Lent. Later, ribbons, tinsel and fringed paper were added and wrapped around the pot.