Piñatas are handmade clay pots that are given various shapes and are colored in bright hues to symbolize happiness and joy. They are usually hung on ceiling and poles and are filled with goodies, cakes, cookies, and candies, especially for birthday celebrations.
They are deliberately cracked and the eatables fall on the birthday boy/girl. The Piñata can also be crafted from paper mache in shapes of animals, birds, toys, etc. It signifies that God has gifted everything in abundance.
Breaking Piñatas was a tradition followed by the Mayans and Aztecs and is still celebrated posthumously by the Mexicans. Although they are associated with Mexican celebr
ations, piñatas may not originate in just Mexico.
In early China there existed a tradition of making hollow decorated figures of cows and oxen to celebrate the New Year, these figures were filled with seeds and smashed to symbolize good luck and good crops.
Early explorers like Marco Polo saw this and brought the tradition to Europe. In Italian, “pignatta” means “fragile pot” and early piñatas were in fact made with clay and decorated with tinsel and ribbon.
These fun festival creations soon spread to Spain, where the first Sunday of Lent became known as the “Dance of the Piñata.
The Spanish carried this tradition to Mexico i
n order to lure Aztecs into converting to Catholicism, but the Aztecs had a similar tradition where they decorated clay pots with bright feathers, filled them with treasure, and smashed them to celebrate the birthday of the Aztec God of War.
Piñatas are lightweight sculptures that serve a purpose, just like high fashion or graphic design. Humorous and festive, they are meant to mark celebrations. Fun, funny, and functional.
Piñatas bridge the gap between art and craft. Piñatas are suspended from the ceiling by a rope, and guests take turns hitting the piñata. Guests are usually blindfolded as they hit the piñata, and someone may spin the piñata or move it to make it harder for the blindfold
ed person to hit it.
After a guest (or the person celebrating a birthday) breaks the piñata, everyone scrambles to retrieve the treats or toys.
