<P> Today they are most often performed in rural areas and in the lower - class neighborhoods of cities . The first part consists of a procession . The most traditional version heads out after dark each of the nine evenings from a local church . A girl and boy are chosen to play Mary and Joseph in costume, sometimes with Mary riding a donkey . The rest of the procession carries candles, paper lanterns and / or decorated staves and often an empty manger . If no one is dressed as Mary and Joseph, the procession generally carries a nativity scene . </P> <P> Las Posadas generally serves as a way to maintain community bonds with neighborhood . In one variation, the procession arrives at a house and divides in two . One half remains outside and sings a traditional song to ask for shelter . The other sings the response from inside, and the ritual ends with everyone inside . The other variation has the procession go to three houses singing, two of which "reject" the party until the third house accepts . </P> <P> The piñata started as a medium by which the Evangelists used to teach Christian beliefs to the natives . With the traditional star - shaped piñata still being broken by children during the Posadas . Like the procession, the Mexican piñata has symbolic and didactic meaning . The vessel represents Satan who has all the goods of the world, decorated to attract people . There are most traditionally seven points to represent the seven cardinal sins . The stick represents the Christian faith to defeat evil and release the treasure for all . </P> <P> After piñatas there is meal which usually includes tamales, atole, buñuelos and a hot drink called ponche, which is made from seasonal fruits such as tejocote, guava, plum, mandarin orange, orange and / or prune, sweetened with piloncillo, a kind of brown sugar, and spiced with cinnamon or vanilla . For adults rum or tequila may be added . Ponche recipes vary greatly in Mexico . The Colima version usually includes milk, sugar, orange leaves, vanilla and grated coconut . </P>

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