The Christmas season is a time of both celebration and devout observances in Mexico, just as it is in the U.S and many other countries.

But Mexico has its own unique seasonal traditions and festivities, and also recognizes many secular and religious holidays throughout the year that are unknown or less celebrated elsewhere.

A passing knowledge of these major Mexican holidays is useful for visitors to Los Cabos, not only because of the opportunities for interesting glimpses into local and national culture, but because it helps to explain many things that may at first glance seem inexplicable:  like why the banks are closed on a Tuesday, for example, or why hotel rooms are suddenly in short supply in the middle of April.

December 16 – 24

The nine days prior to Christmas are known as Las Posadas in Mexico, and remember the journey of Joseph and Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem with ritual reenactments of their admittance to various inns (posada means inn in Spanish).  The final day of the Posadas, Christmas Eve, is known in Mexico as Nochebuena. Families typically attend midnight mass before enjoying a large dinner and opening Christmas gifts.

December 31

Although Champagne toasts and midnight fireworks are as common in Mexico for New Year’s Eve as they are in the U.S., some of the other traditions are quite a bit different. It is customary in Mexico, for example, to eat 12 grapes as the clock strikes midnight in order to ensure good fortune for each of the individual months in the upcoming year. Many Mexicans also wear brightly colored undergarments, with each hue representative of different desires for the New Year:  red for love, green for money, yellow for happiness, etc.

January 6

Three Kings Day (or El Dia de los Tres Reyes Magos)–which celebrates the wise men who brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the infant Jesus–is  an afterthought in the U.S. for all but the most ardent Catholics. In Mexico, it’s virtually a second Christmas, with more feasting and additional presents for children. There is a special bread for this day called Rosca de Reyes, and the person who first finds the plastic figure of Jesus buried inside the bread is expcected to provide the tamales for the party on Candlemas, Februrary 2nd.

April 9 – 16

Semana Santa, known in English as Holy Week, is the week before Easter, and one of the busiest travel weeks in Mexico. Government offices close, students are on break, and families flock to all the traditional resort destinations, including Los Cabos. Easter, by the way, falls on April 16 in 2017.

May 5

Cinco de Mayo is sometimes confused with Mexican Independence Day, which is in fact the most important of Mexico’s secular celebrations. Cinco de Mayo remembers the victory of Mexicans over invading French forces as the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, and is not a major holiday in Mexico. Its major popularity, ironically, is in the U.S., where the day seems to be an excuse for tacos and margaritas. In Mexico, no excuses are needed!

September 16

Mexican Independence Day commemorates Miguel Hidalgo’s Grito de Dolores in 1810. The grito was a “cry of freedom” issued on the evening of the 15th and again the following day in the small village of Dolores in Guanajuato, and proved the instigating factor in Mexico’s successful war for independence from Spain. Public officials throughout the country reenact the grito at 11 p.m. on September 15, with festivities following throughout the next day. In Los Cabos, parades are held in cape cities Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo.

November 20

The Mexican Revolution of 1910 was triggered when Porfirio Diaz, who had ruled the country with an iron fist for over 30 years, imprisoned an opponent in an upcoming presidential election named Francisco Madero. Madero’s subsequent Plan of San Luis Potosi called for Mexicans to rebel and rise up on November 20th. The rest, from Pancho Villa to Emiliano Zapata, is history.

Photo courtesy of Casa Dorada.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM LOS CABOS VACATION RENTALS AND LOS CABOS REAL ESTATE

www.LosCabosVillas.com

www.LosCabosRealEstate.Pro