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  • Pinatas are a part of Mexican culture in regard to celebrations. They also have been integrated into American culture, as well as other cultures, to become a fun familiarity. Today when you think of pinatas, you think of birthday parties with children laughing as a waterfall of candy spills from a colorfully ornate papier-mache animal suspended from the sky.

    Luck for the Harvest

    It is believed that the explorer Marco Polo is in great part responsible for the concept of the pinata spreading across the continents. In his 13th-century journey to China, he observed the Chinese using pinatas for their new year's celebration. The people would fill colorfully ornamented papier-mache animals with seeds and then take turns hitting the ornament with sticks until the seeds spilled out. The Chinese did this to promote good luck for the coming harvest.

    Just for Fun

    Marco Polo is believed to have brought pinatas back with him to Italy, where Catholics adopted their use. They used them in celebration for religious holidays such as Lent.

    Missionary Tool

    Missionaries from Spain adapted the observed pinata tradition to serve as an evangelism tool, making pinatas with seven sides to represent the seven deadly sins of man. People were blindfolded to represent blind faith, and then they struck the pinatas in order to represent the destruction of their sins.

    Aztec Worship

    The Aztecs of Mexico had a practice similar to that of breaking the pinata. They broke decorated clay pots filled with gifts during their worship ceremonies. When a pot was broken, it represented an offering to their gods. Missionaries adapted their own pinata in order to make the Aztecs more easily understand their message.

    Celebrations

    Today the pinata is commonly used as a game for children's birthday celebrations. The pinata comes in many shapes and sizes and is filled with candy. Participants are then blindfolded and spun around. Then they are instructed to swing at the pinata as someone moves it up and down, making it more difficult to hit. When the pinata is finally broken, all run to gather the sugary sweets that emerge.

    Source:

    ThePinataShop.net: History of the Pinata

    Mexconnect: History of the Pinata

    Resource:

    Mexico Child Link: History of the Pinata in Mexico

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