Christmas in México
Christmas Eve
Usually starting on December 16th children often perform the 'Posada' until Christmas Eve. Posadas are paper sacks with designs cut into it with a candle held up by sand on the inside. For the 9 Posadas, the outside of houses are decorated with evergreens, moss and paper lanterns. Christmas Eve is known as 'Noche Buena' and is a family day. People often take part in the final Posada and then in the evening have the main Christmas meal and at midnight, many of the people go to a Midnight Mass service, also known as the 'Misa de Gallo'; meaning Mass of the Rooster.
Each night a different house holds the Posada party.One of the games played at these parties is a piñata.The piñata is often decorated something like a ball with seven peaks around it representing the 'seven deadly sins'.At the final Posada, on Christmas Eve, a manger and figures of shepherds are put on to the board. When the Posada house has been found, a baby Jesus is put into the manger and then families go to a midnight Church service. When the Church service ends, there are more fireworks to celebrate the start of Christmas.
Radishes are used for carving competitions on the 23rd of december in the town plaza of Oaxaca City in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. These radishes are harvested around the 18th of december and carved ready for the 23rd.
28th December is when people remember the babies that were killed on the orders of King Herod when he was trying to kill the baby Jesus. 'los santos inocentes' was also celebrated that day.