Candlemas Day is one of the most deeply rooted traditions of the Catholic religion in Mexico and is celebrated every February 2nd. The dynamic of this celebration begins with the famous game of "rosca" of the Three Kings: those who find a little doll representing the child God in their slice of the "rosca", will be in charge of buying the tamales for the Candelaria. Do you want to know why?
Candlemas Day Celebration in Mexico
The celebration of Candlemas Day in Mexico as we know it today is a syncretism between the Catholic religion and pre-Hispanic culture. Within the Catholic religion, the purification of the Virgin Mary is celebrated after the birth of the child God, who took him to church to perform this ritual just 40 days after the birth, that is, on February 2.
On the other hand, even during the Conquest in Mexico, many indigenous peoples worshipped their own deities. One of their rituals was the celebration of the beginning of Atlacahualo, date in which they watered the fields and paid tribute with corn cobs to the gods Tlaloc and Chalchiuhtlicue to have good crops all year round.
The date of the beginning of Atlacahualo and the purification of the Virgin Mary with the child God coincided then, which the Spaniards took advantage of to continue with the evangelization of the indigenous peoples and to transform their rituals into customs that would help the process of catechization. With the passage of time, the Catholic-Pre-Hispanic celebration evolved and became what we now know as Candlemas Day.
God's children and their clothing
It is a tradition to bring the God of Christmas births children to church on Candlemas Day. In Mexico it is customary to decorate with special clothing specifically made for this ritual and there are even stores that specialize in this type of clothing.
The custom dates back to the sixth century once the celebration of the Purification of the Virgin Mary and the presentation of the child God in church began.
Why do we eat tamales?
During the celebrations of the beginning of the fertile time of the land, the Mexicas paid tribute to Tláloc and Chalchihuitlicue by giving away corn and later tamales. Once the cultural syncretism between the pre-Hispanic peoples and the Catholic religion occurred, tamales were prepared to be served at the February 2 meetings after going to church.
In addition to tamales, on Candle Day it is customary to serve varieties of atole (a drink also made from corn), chocolate or coffee.
According to the writings of the Franciscan missionary Fray Bernardino de Sahagún, in pre-Hispanic Mexico there existed a great variety of tamales prepared with diverse ingredients, among them chili, tomato, pumpkin, pheasant meat, turkey or quail. This rich dish has also been evolving and now we can enjoy delicious and even exotic varieties of tamales.
Come on these dates to the beautiful colonial town of Tequila, Jalisco, we also invite you to visit the restaurant La Antigua Casona located just a few meters from the central kiosk in front of the Parish Santiago Apostle. Here you will be able to taste a rich variety of sweet and salty tamales specially designed by the restaurant's chef. Ask for the special menu for Candlemas Day!
