In Mexico, Christmas festivities are celebrated on December 16th with the tradition of las posadas. The pilgrimage of Maria and Jose is recreated as they look for a place to stay in Bethlehem for nine nights. At the beginning of the posadas, groups of people would dress up as Maria and Jose and they would go from house to house, singing carols and asking for posada. When they get to a house the people would be divided into two small groups, the one’s outside, representing Maria and Jose, and the one’s inside, representing the innkeepers. Everyone then sings the posada prayer together going back and forth until they are finally accepted or welcome to a home. At the end, piñatas full of candies are broken by kids.

The night of December 24th, which is Christmas Eve, is a very important day in Mexico because families gather together to celebrate the festive dinner called Cena de Nochebuena (Christmas Eve Dinner). Some of the most typical dishes that people prepare include tamales, Ensalada de Manzana, and ponche. After dinner, many people usually go to a midnight misa called Misa de Gallo (The Mass of the Rooster) or Misa de los pastores, which is a really memorable midnight mass commemorating the birth of Jesus. This Mass is called this because a rooster is supposed to have crowded at midnight to announce the birth of Jesus. After that, people would return to their houses, and they would exchange gifts with their families, have fun and spend time with their loved ones.