Día de la Candelaria Celebration (Tamales Day)
Día de la Candelaria celebration (better known as Tamales Day) is a holiday that takes place every year in Mexico on February 2nd.
This holiday is celebrated all around the world for Catholics religion followers and represents the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, in accordance with Jewish Law, where a women was considered unclean for 40 days after giving birth. Mary went to the temple to be purified and present Jesus to God following the religious rules of the time.
Candelaria Day
In Mexico Día de la Candelaria (Candlemas Celebration) it is celebrated every year and fuses local traditions with Catholic festivities. Following the tradition families bring Niño Dios (Christ Child) 40 days after Christmas to the Temple for presentation, during these 40 days families take care of the Niño Dios, change his clothes and have special local celebrations.
There are stronger believers who are called Mayordomos (Butlers) and are in charge of the image or representation of Chirst Child for the whole year, every year a new family takes this responsability on this day and receive the Jesus Child in custody on their home.
It is also a Tamales Day (Tamal is a Mexican dish made of minced and seasoned meat packed in cornmeal dough, wrapped in corn husks, and steamed). On January 6th, King´s Day, celebration friends and families gather together around The Rosca de Reyes, or ring-shaped Rosca de Reyes, a sweet round, cake or oval shape Mexican bread, decorated with slices of crystallized or candied fruit colors.
This tradition of eating and sharing a rosca de reyes bread with a hot chocolate to remember the Holy Kings, is made as a snack or pre-dinner at an early hour in the late evening, inside the rosca you will find 2 or more tiny baby jesus´s and the person who finds the baby Jesus, should put the house for a party on Candlemas Day on February 2nd. Tha´s why this celebration is also called Día de los Tamales.
Rosca de Reyes
If you are in Mexico you will notice many people buying Tamales all around the country.
