<P> From December 16 to 24 there are a series of procession and parties called Las Posadas (from the word for inn), for many children the most anticipated part of the Christmas season . The tradition was begun by Spanish evangelists to teach the Christmas story to the indigenous people and ostensibly to substitute the rituals related to the birth of the god Huitzilopochtli . </P> <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>

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