Christmas is undoubtedly one of the most important and popular holidays around the world. As is commonly known, this holiday began as a celebration of the birth of Jesus, who was actually not born on this date. Instead, it was chosen by Constantine I the Great, because on this same December day, the Festival of the birth of the Sun God, Sol Invictus, was celebrated. The purpose of combining the birthdays of Jesus and the Sun God was to facilitate the conversion of pagans to Christianity, a religion that would become official in the 4th century.
From there, this celebration gradually gained momentum until it became the massive phenomenon we know today. In Mexico, in particular, the celebration of Christmas initially became associated with one of the principal gods of a warlike civilization. Missionaries took advantage of the fact that the Mexica (Aztecs) celebrated the birth of Huitzilopochtli, the god of war or Sun-child, around the same days that the birth of Jesus was commemorated in the Old World. With this merging of traditions, the task of evangelizing became easier. Huitzilopochtli was a primary deity for the Mexica, and on the first day of the festivities dedicated to him, called Panquetzaliztli, a ceremony was held to honor his birth on December 21. The Aztecs held feasts in all the houses and offered food and small figurines made of blue corn to their guests. Coincidentally, December 24 was the day the sun reappeared after the winter solstice on the 21st, and people celebrated its rebirth with rituals and dances.
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During the festivities dedicated to the deity, the great lords, warriors, and pochtecas (Mesoamerican traders) were required to bring captives, who reenacted the battle of Huitzilopochtli against the 400 huitznáhua and Coyolxauhqui. After this simulated battle, the captives were sacrificed at the top of the pyramid dedicated to Tenochtitlan’s patron god in the Templo Mayor, where their chests were opened to remove their hearts as offerings to the sun. The lifeless bodies were thrown down the pyramid steps, much like Huitzilopochtli had done to his sister and the 400 southerners.
Another ritual that was performed involved choosing a Painal (the swift one), who represented the god in his youth. The Painal’s mission was to travel almost the entirety of the Mexico Gulf, spreading the deity's goodwill and blessings to all the towns.
Additionally, a life-size figure of the “hummingbird god” was made from tzoalli, a dough of huauhtli, made with amaranth seeds and maguey honey. Once the figure was placed in the temple, a priest dressed as the god Quetzalcóatl would shoot an arrow into the heart of the figure to ritually kill it. Then, the Mexica people would take pieces of the figure to eat. This act bore a resemblance to what is done in Catholicism today, where the body and blood of Christ are consumed. Although in those times it was a different type of ritual, it mirrored the Catholic practice of consuming tzoalli figures.
Historians note that the first recorded Christmas was celebrated in 1526, when Fray Pedro de Gante, a Franciscan missionary, wrote to King Charles V about the celebration the Spaniards held with the indigenous people. This marked the beginning of the Nativity celebration in the New World. Laden with prayers, carols, and a strong religious spirit, it gradually replaced the important celebration of the god Huichilobos, as the Spaniards called him, who passionately transformed his reputation into something diabolic.
Every December 24, live representations and processions began to take place in church atriums, where the rosary was prayed. Early the next day, services were held in the churches. The Mexica were used to celebrating at this time of year, so when missionaries told them that this celebration was for the Son of the Sun, the Son of God, it was relatively easy to swap one for the other. Thus, Huitzilopochtli’s days became Jesus’ days, and during the colonial period, just as in pre-Hispanic times, Christmas became a community celebration centered on worship. Starting in 1587, the tradition of Las Posadas began when the monks once again took advantage of the celebration of Huitzilopochtli to organize a play for each of the nine days leading up to Christmas. In these plays, they dressed the indigenous people in Roman costumes, representing the empire where Christ was born. Soon, these representations were adopted by the newly evangelized towns, and Las Posadas became part of the Christmas celebration tradition.
The celebration grew and evolved over time. By the 19th century, during the brief reign of Maximilian of Habsburg (1864–1867), the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree was introduced. This tradition was interrupted after his execution, as all customs established by him were discredited. However, in 1878, Miguel Negrete, a rival of Porfirio Díaz, decorated a huge tree so spectacularly that it earned praise from both citizens and the press.
Now, I will share a recipe that has prevailed from prehispanic times, using amaranth to make a treat that will serve well as a gift, or to share with family and friends after your Mexican Christmas party. The name for this is “alegría” which translates to joy, and I think it’s not a coincidence.
Ingredients:
- - 1/4 cup of raisins
- - 1/4 cup of walnuts
- - 1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds
- - 1/4 cup of peanuts
- - 1/8 cup of water
- - 125 g of piloncillo
- - 1/4 cup of honey
- - 1/2 lemon (juice)
- - 250 g of amaranth
Instructions:
- 1. Place the raisins, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and peanuts in a saucepan and toast them over low heat.
- 2. In another saucepan, pour the water and piloncillo, and dissolve with the help of a spoon.
- 3. Once the piloncillo has dissolved in the water, add the honey and mix again.
- 4. Add the lemon juice and cook for 15 minutes.
- 5. Add the toasted raisins, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and peanuts, as well as the amaranth, to this mixture.
- 6. Once you have a single mixture of all ingredients, place it in molds and let it cool before serving.
You can get creative and make your own Christmas figurines, use cookie cutters and the ingredients like decoration. Even add some chocolate! I think adopting new traditions and making them your own is quite special and very cool.
I am always happy to hear from you at ale.borbolla@gringogazette.com!
