What is Piñata?
A lot of people may have heard of Piñata, but what exactly is it?
Piñatas are containers made of cloth or paper, where they are filled with small toys and candies insides. They are mostly used for children's birthday where the birthday girl/boy will be blind-folded and try to hit the Piñata for the treats inside. Since Piñatas are for children's birthdays, they are often decorated with cartoon characters, such as superman, batman, or any kind of Disney characters.
Besides of the celebration of birthday parties, Piñatas are also used during the Las Posadas, which occurs from December 16th - 24th of every year. It is basically celebrated as the significance of a 9-month pregnancy of Mary carrying Jesus.
Although Piñatas are being viewed as fun and entertaining, the origins of Piñatas can be traced back to deep religious reasons. In the past, clay pots were used as Piñatas with seven points representing the seven deadly sins.
The church interprets that the pot represents evil and the fruit/candy inside the pot represents temptation. When a man is blind-folded, he is representing faith. Then, the turning, singing and shouting of other people represent the disoreintation of faith. At that stage, it is up to the blind-folded person to find and discover the Piñata on his own. When he finally breaks the Piñata, it represents the struggle against temptation and evil, then the candy/fruit inside represents the reward of keeping the faith.
Nowadays, people who celebrate Piñatas often do not associate it with religious reasons. They are used more as a tradition and keeping the culture of Mexico. Though, it is still used for adults, where Piñatas are depicted as political figures that they do not like. Recently, when Donald Trump made an offensive comment about Mexicans, we see more Donald Trump Piñatas on the street.
So guys, have fun, grab a stick and celebrate with a Piñata and get the treats inside!
