Latin Traditions

10 Cultural Traditions

1. Dia De Los Reyes Magos: This is the Three Wise Men holiday. It is celebrated every 6th of Januray in Mexico. The tradition is to leave your shoe out before bed-time, and of the wise men will leave a present for you.

2. Dia De Los Muertos: Day of the Dead. This holiday is celebrated in some parts of Mexico on the 1st of November. This holiday honors the loved ones who have died, by taking their favorite dish and fruit to the cemetery.

3. When someone days in our family we have a novenario for them. A novenario is when the closest family members gather together for nine days, and pray the rosary for the person's soul. They immediate family provides Chocolate (Mexican Hot Chocolate) and pan dulce. The last day of the novenario, they end it with a pot luck as a sign of gratitude to all the people who attended the rosary.

4. Turkey Mole for Thanksgiving. My mom makes her specialty dish on Thanksgiving. Although turkey is a custom dish for Thanksgiving, my mom altered it with our Mexican tradition. She makes mole from scratch and bakes it with the turkey.

5. Every year for Christmas the ladies of our family; granddaughters, mothers, sisters, great granddaughters, and sisters, gather together to make Tamales. This is a great tradition because all the women of different generations help out with Christmas dinner, while all the guys play a game of basketball.

6. Ponche is family tradition to have for Christmas Eve and NewYear's Eve. Ponche is a hot spiked drink. It consists of Jamaica (hibiscus flower), tamarind, sugar cane, tequila, star anise, cinnamon sticks, and fresh fruit. It is served hot.

7. As in most Hispanic families we always celebrate Christmas Eve. We have dinner, pray the rosary, and enjoy some Ponche while we play a couple of board games. At midnight we give each other a hug and then we begin Christmas by opening the presents.

8. When our family has a big party the previous night we invite the closest friends and family members to the Recalentado. A recalantado means brunch with left-over food, drinks, and menudo. People normally show up a little hung over and go straight to the menudo, a stew made with tripe. It really doesn't sound too appetizing but it is delicious.

9. In our family then men are not allowed to eat at the dinner table with muscle shirts or shirtless. My grandpa always saw it as a sign of being disrespectful and disgust.

10. Since I was brought up Catholic, the children of our family are expected to be baptized before their 1st birthday. And of course the god parents have to be religiously married.