Consular Christmas blogs: Piñatas and Posadas – A Mexican Christmas

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year in Mexico.

There are lights hanging everywhere, everyone is buying Christmas presents and arranging a family reunion with a fancy dinner. Our Mexican celebrations are the fusion of indigenous and Spanish traditions, seasoned with a bit of influence from the USA.

The celebration starts with our nine posadas, which represent Joseph and Mary’s arduous journey to Bethlehem. Mexicans celebrate with Piñatas – a star-shaped papier-mâché container full of sweets, mandarins and small toys which they break open. You will hear parents and children singing special songs until they finally break the piñata.

These celebrations are very appealing to British tourists, who want to get a taste of what Mexico is all about at Christmas. But sometimes too much tequila can lead to trouble at the end of what was supposed to be a special day.

Brits travelling to Mexico often underestimate the risks and sometimes aren’t prepared for the Mexican authorities’ response. Most of them think that because they are British they won’t get into trouble, or will find an easy way out of it if they do.

The main messages for Brits planning to visit Mexico over Christmas are that they must observe local laws and customs, drink sensibly, and don’t drink and drive.

Driving in Mexico City is not easy at the best of times; Christmas is even more frantic and the local police can be pretty unsympathetic to drunken behaviour. Ignore this advice and your holiday won’t go as planned, and you could spend Christmas in jail or injured in hospital.

Cancun is one of the most popular resorts for Brits looking for winter sun. We are expecting to play host to around 75,000 British tourists this winter season.  Sun, sea and sand are a welcome change to the traditional British Christmas for some people.

The British Consulate in Cancun provides assistance to Brits in distress in a number of different situations, e.g. lost or stolen passports, arrests and hospitalizations. Being involved in these kinds of situations can be very stressful but a bit of research and preparation, like getting comprehensive travel insurance, can really make a difference.

The Mexican authorities are also very vigilant when it comes to dealing with drug offences. They have a high success rate in catching foreigners who try to transport drugs. This is considered a grave crime and the penalty is a custodial sentence of up to 25 years. At present Cancun has zero Brits in prison and we want to keep it that way.

Our wish for this magical season is that all Brits travelling to Mexico have a trouble-free and enjoyable trip.

Feliz Navidad!