The “holidays” are a term usually reserved for the weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve in the United States. Mexico doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving so, what’s our “holiday” season all about? Well, we celebrate the most extended holiday in the world…three weeks of steadfast drinking, also known as The Guadalupe-Reyes Marathon. This is a festive time full of office Christmas parties, street processions in honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe, New Year’s parties, and just any excuse for a “posada” holiday party with friends.
It’s a Mexican concept born from the fact that December 12 is a traditional holiday in honor of ‘Our lady of Guadalupe,’ a Virgin Mary unique to Mexico with special meaning in the Latino community also, marking the beginning of the traditional holiday season in the country, ending on January 6, the day of the Three Wise Men, or “Reyes Magos,” and hence the “Guadalupe-Reyes” period. During these three weeks, one can get invited to a “posada” almost every week, which is just a Spanish name for a Latin Christmas season tradition (see our previous post) Piñatas everywhere, kids running around, with families, friends, neighbors, and coworkers coming together.
