Children and piñatas

For children, piñatas provide a great way to celebrate many occasions, such as Christmas, birthday's and Easter. A piñata is a decorated vessel (such as a pottery jar) filled with candies, fruits, and gifts. Often times they are crafted out of brightly colored papier-Mâché, a rigid material made of paper pulp or paper strips, held together by flour, glue, resin, or other materials.

The possibility of a person's creative imagination coupled with brightly colored paper provides makers with an endless array of piñatas. Common figures include a bird, a burro, an airplane or even fairy-tale characters such as Cinderella or Snow White.

Piñatas are fun, because everyone gets a turn to swing at it with a stick, and try to brake it open. But its not that easy, the children must be blind folded and spun around in circles before they are allowed to hit it. To further create a challenge, especially for the older kids, the piñata is suspended by a rope used to bob it up and down. Once it is split open, all the children rush to the center to scoop up the treats and goodies that remain. It is customary for each person in the party to be given three chances to break the piñata.

Mexican Celebrations

Before coming to Mexico, the piñata was used by the Spaniards as part of a masked piñata dance on the first Sunday in Lent, the 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday to Easter observed by the Roman Catholic church as a period of penitence and fasting.

In Mexico it has been used following a posada, or Christmas procession to a house or church as a reenactment of the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem. On the Saturday before Easter, piñatas in the form of Judas are carried in street processions and broken by the crowd. Piñatas are also used as an attraction at any party as a happy conclusion to the refreshments, dancing, or other celebrations.

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