12 Days of Christmas Traditions: Spain and Mexico

In Spain, Christmas is traditionally celebrated with an elaborate Nacimiento, people attending the Misa del Gallo at midnight on December 24th, and having their Christmas dinner, which includes the traditional Pavo Trufado de Navidad, afterwards.

But what sets Spain apart at this time of the year are the Hogueras, a tradition that celebrates the winter solstice. People jump over fires as a symbolic protection against illness. This tradition is typically observed in the regions of Granada and Jaen. 

In Mexico, the Christmas celebrations start 9 days in advance with the posadas: each night, after dark, two children lead the procession, carrying a small pine-decorated platform, that bear replicas of Joseph and Maria riding a burro. All other participants in the posada carry lighted long candles and sing an old traditional song asking for shelter to a specific house. Each night they go to a different house. On Christmas Eve, people go to the Misa de Gallo, and when they return home, they have their traditional Christmas dinner, which commonly consists of tamales, rellenos, menudo and atole.  

Vocabulary:

Nacimiento = nativity scenes
Misa del Gallo = the Mass of the Rooster
Hogueras = bonfires
burro = donkey
tamales = a Mexican dish of seasoned meat wrapped in cornmeal dough and steamed or baked in corn husks
rellenos = stuffed, roasted, fresh poblano peppers
menudo = a spicy Mexican soup made from tripe
atole = a traditional hot corn and masa based beverage of Mexican and Central American origin

Recipes: 

Pavo Trufado de Navidad (Christmas Turkey with Truffles)

Ingredients:

1 turkey of 9 pounds.
1 1/2 pounds. minced lean pork
2 1/4 pounds. minced veal
Salt and ground black pepper
3 tins (of 3 oz) truffles (mushrooms)
5 1/4 oz "jamon serrano"
7 oz belly of pork in rashers
6 eggs

For garnish: 
Apple puree, Plums, Pineapple, oranges and maraschino cherries
For the stock:

Carcass and giblets of the turkey
1 pound carrots
1 pound leeks
1 pound onions
1 stick of celery
2 ham bones
1.2 oz gelatin
Eggshells

1. Place the turkey upside down, cut the skin along the backbone, and using the fingers, ease away the skin in one piece, first on one side of the backbone and then on the other. It is elastic and should come away easily.

2. Keep the breasts apart, making fillets of the thickest parts and cutting into strips. Remove the meat from the legs and wings, etc., and mince it with the pork and veal, putting it all into a bowl. Season with salt and ground black pepper, add the chopped truffles and their juice, and the ham and belly of pork in strips. Leave to marinate for 4 hours, together with the beaten eggs.

3. Remove the sliced truffles and the strips of ham and belly of pork, and reserve. Then knead together the filling thoroughly by hand.

4. Now spread out the skin of the turkey on the working surface and lay the fillets on top like the pages of a book. Cover the breasts with a layer of the minced meat and then with one of ham and belly of pork strips, breasts and slices of truffle, repeating the operation until the ingredients are used up. Using a stout needle, sew together the edges of the skin and also the holes made by the wings and legs.

5. Place the sew-up skin with its filling on a white napkin, roll it around and sew with large stitches, then tie it into a roll with uncolored string.

6. Put the roll into a large saucepan, together with the cut up carcass and cut up vegetables.  Add the ham bones, the gelatin and a few egg shells. Cover with 3 liters of cold water and boil briskly for 3 hours (1 ½ hours each side), seasoning with salt and ground pepper. Make sure that it is evenly cooked, then remove the roll and leave it on a dish to drain and cool.

7. Remove the cloth in which it is wrapped, wring out the juice into the cooking liquid, rinse out the cloth and again wrap up the roll without sewing. Put it on a dish, place a chopping board on top, and on top of this a weight of 6 or 7 pounds. Press for 12 hours and then put into the refrigerator.

8. Boil the cooking liquid without a lid, reducing it to 2 pints if converting it into a jelly. If strained, this makes a magnificent soup or consomme. If required thicker, add three or four leave of gelatin. Cut the roll into slices 1/2 inch thick. Serve with puree of apples and plums and decorate with slices of fresh pineapples and orange and with maraschino cherries.

Champurrado (atole de chocolate)

Ingredients:

6 cups whole milk
1 cup masa harina--corn flour
2 cups water
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, grated
1 cinnamon stick

Heat the mild and chocolate in a saucepan, stirring to dissolve the chocolate. When chocolate is completely dissolved, remove from the heat and set aside to keep warm. Mix the masa harina with the water in another saucepan; place over low heat, add the cinnamon stick, and cook until the mixture has thickened and the masa becomes translucent. Add the chocolate milk and sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar and simmer for a few minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick and serve the champurrado hot in cups or mugs.

Songs

Pidiendo Posada

En el nombre del cielo

os pido posada

pues no puede andar

mi esposa amada.

Aquí no es mesón,

sigan adelante

Yo no debo abrir,

no sea algún tunante.

Venimos rendidos

desde Nazaret.

Yo soy carpintero

de nombre José.

No me importa el nombre,

déjenme dormir,

pues que yo les digo

que nos hemos de abrir.

Posada te pide,

amado casero,

por sólo una noche

la Reina del Cielo.

Pues si es una reina

quien lo solicita,

¿cómo es que de noche

anda tan solita?

Mi esposa es María,

es Reina del Cielo

y madre va a ser

del Divino Verbo.

¿Eres tú José?

¿Tu esposa es María?

Entren, peregrinos,

no los conocía.

Dios pague, señores,

vuestra caridad,

y que os colme el cielo

de felicidad.

¡Dichosa la casa

que alberga este día

a la Virgen pura.

la hermosa María!