Las Noches de las Luminarias at Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix
Christmas Traditions in the Southwest
On Christmas Eve, those of Mexican heritage celebrate las posadas, or “the inns,” which commemorates Mary and Joseph’s search for shelter before the birth of Jesus. The tradition began in Mexico in the 1500s. It usually starts Dec. 16 and ends on Christmas Eve. In some communities in Mexico, the procession occurs all nine nights. Generally it is led by children who travel from door to door, singing Christmas songs. When they reach a designated “innkeeper” home, the hosts or “innkeepers” meet the procession at the door to begin the holiday fiesta.
Tamales are a central feature of the fiesta. They are most commonly composed of masa (corn flour dough) spread on a corn husk, and filled with meat, chiles, cheese, or variations on these. The making of tamales from scratch has become a Christmas event (called a tamalada) in part because it is so labor-intensive, taking several days, and so is best done when there are a lot of friends and family members around to help. Ingredients are prepared and tamales put together in an assembly-line fashion. In Tucson, there are competitions shortly before Christmas to determine who makes the “best” tamales.
Tamales (tamal is the Mexican “singular” use of the word) can be traced back to as early as 7000 B.C, when Aztec women were taken along in battle as cooks for the army. They needed a portable yet sustainable food and tamales could be made ahead of time, packed and warmed as needed.
We hope, no matter what your particular traditions are, that you have a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday Season!
Tohono Chul Park in Tucson
I hope your Christmas is perfect. Enjoy time with family and friends…LlOVELY PHOTOS
Beautiful pictures, especially the first one! I was in Florida a few times for Christmas and it seemed very strange to me. We’re getting a little more snow today; this is what I’m used to. I’m not saying I like it – just that I’m used to it. Merry Christmas!
Yum! I love tamales…my mom and I have even made them a few times. It’s totally worth it.
Merry Christmas…may it involve lots of chocolate and books!
Yummy post! Tamales are a part of our holiday celebrations as well. The assembly line process to get them all done is very efficient, and looks like the cookie making operation in some houses. And they are delicious! With a little green chile of course. Merry, merry Christmas!
Those photos are gorgeous! Even though I haven’t had breakfast yet those tamales are looking very good.
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas to you and your family Jill!
Merry Christmas. Beautiful pictures and tradition. Also, sounds tasty!
As an expat Californian, I’d give my right arm for two or three homemade tamales and a Corona right now, Jill–this g-d East Coast cuisine can go to hell (although I’m actually munching on some nice pâté as I type, ha ha). Love the photos and the text–Merry Christimas to you and your loved ones!
That top picture is so pretty! A different sort of Christmas scene.
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas Jill! Enjoy your tamales. I certainly enjoyed hearing about them. No idea that the process was so labor intensive.
Hard to imagine it is Christmas without snow, but that is the poor fate of you and I. Pictures are just gorgeous. Hope you got everything you wanted!
The tamales sound yummy. I hope you had a great Christmas, Jill!
to you and your family, best wishes for a Happy Christmas!
Thank you for the wishes for Christmas for us who are surrounded by the white stuff called SNOW.
And for the Mexican/Arizonian lore!
Wishing you a happy New Year!
I loved those photos!! What a cool way to celebrate Christmas!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Jill!!
What a beautiful post! Thanks for sharing the traditions – I enjoyed reading about them.
Tamales are a popular tradition among my friends as well. It’s rare I go a Christmas without having at least one. I think it’s a great tradition. I hope you had a Merry Christmas!
From Ohio to Arizona, hope you had a great Christmas, Jill!
Belated christmas wishes to you.
I watched a programme where they were making tamales and it looks really intensive.
Merry Christmas, just a little bit late
I love those luminaries as well as those “authentic” tamales. We’ve experience both a few times when our two oldest were in college in Santa Fe. They are wonderful traditions.
I hope you and your husband had a peaceful holiday and you got a ton of books. One of my gifts was A Northern Light. Thanks so much for recommending it.
Tamales tamales tamales tamales tamales!! Yeah we had them here in TX too. I used to make them when we lived up in WI because I couldn’t stand not having them around Christmas.
I had a few tamales. Perhaps, a tamale too many but it was Christmas and all.
I love the photos you shared. Since it rained so much here in Calif I didn’t take the camera out too much when we were at Disneyland. I sort of wish now that I had just found shelter and gotten a few pics in.
I did snap a few but not nearly as many as I would have liked. Oh well!! I will have to go back!
I hope you had a terrific Christmas. Thanks for the beautiful pic and the lesson about other cultures!
hope you had a great holiday–i thought the luminaries on the walkway were leading to your HOME. and then i was packing my bags to move in with you!
hope 2011 is a good one for you!
Hope you had a wonderful Christmas, and I wish you all the best in the new year!
Beautiful post. i’ve never been to the southwest for christmas but i love the area & have great memories. thanks for the wonderful images!
Beautiful pictures – Merry Christmas to you as well!
Belated but hope you had a Merry Christmas, hun!
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