January
New Year’s Day (Año Nuevo) – JANUARY 1st
January 1, is a huge Natioal Holiday! Parades, religious observances, parties, and fireworks are during the celebrations of the New Year everywhere. In traditional indigenous communities, new tribal leaders are inaugurated with colorful ceremonies rooted in the pre-Hispanic past.
Three Kings Day (Día de Reyes) – JANUARY 6th, nationwide.
Commemorates the Three Kings’ bringing of gifts to the Christ Child. On this day, children receive gifts, much like the traditional gift giving that accompanies Christmas in the United States. Friends and families gather to share the Rosca de Reyes, a special cake. Inside the cake there is a small doll representing the Christ Child; whoever receives the doll in his or her piece must host a tamales-and-atole party the next month.
February
Candlemass (Día de la Candelaria)- FEBRUARY 2nd, nationwide.
Music, dances, processions, food, and other festivities lead up to a blessing of seed and candles in a tradition that mixes pre-Hispanic and European traditions marking the end of winter. All those who attended the Three Kings Celebration reunite to share atole and tamales at a party hosted by the recipient of the doll found in the Rosca.
Carnaval
Carnaval takes place the 3 days preceding Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. Transportation and hotels are packed, so it’s best to make reservations 6 months in advance and arrive a couple of days ahead of the beginning of celebrations.
Ash Wednesday
The start of Lent and time of abstinence. It’s a day of reverence nationwide, but some towns honor it with folk dancing and fairs
March
Benito Juárez’s Birthday – MARCH 21st
National holiday; Small hometown celebrations countrywide, especially in Juárez’s birthplace— Guelatao, Oaxaca.
April
Holy Week
Celebrates the last week in the life of Christ from Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday with somber religious processions almost nightly, spoofing of Judas, and reenactments of specific biblical events, plus food and craft fairs. Special celebrations are held in Taxco. Businesses close during this traditional week of Mexican national vacations. If you plan on traveling to or around Mexico during Holy Week, make your reservations early. Airline seats on flights into and out of the country will be reserved months in advance. Buses to these towns or to almost anywhere in Mexico will be full, so try arriving on the Wednesday or Thursday before Good Friday. Easter Sunday is quiet and the week following is a traditional vacation period.
May
Labor Day – MAY 1st, nationwide
Workers parade countrywide and everything closes.
Holy Cross Day (Día de la Santa Cruz) – MAY 3rd
Workers place a cross on top of unfinished buildings and celebrate with food, bands, folk dancing, and fireworks around the work site.
Cinco de Mayo –MAY 5th
A national holiday, that celebrates the defeat of the French at the Battle of Puebla.
Feast of San Isidro – MAY 15th
The patron saint of farmers is honored with a blessing of seeds and work animals.
June
Navy Day (Día de la Marina) – June 1st
Celebrated in all coastal towns with naval parades and fireworks.
Corpus Christi - Dates vary, nationwide
Honors the Body of Christ (the Eucharist) with religious processions, masses and food. Festivities include performances of voladores (flying pole dancers) beside the church and at the ruins of El Tajín.
Día de San Pedro (St. Peter and St. Paul’s Day) – JUNE 29th, nationwide
Celebrated wherever St. Peter is the patron saint, and honors anyone named Pedro or Peter.
July
The Guelaguetza Dance Festival - June 21st to 28th, Oaxaca.
One of Mexico’s most popular events. Villagers from the seven regions around Oaxaca gather in the city’s amphitheater. All dress in traditional costumes, and many wear colorful “dancing” masks. The celebration goes back to pre-Hispanic times when a similar celebration was held to honor the fertility goddess who would, in exchange, grant a plentiful corn harvest. Make advance reservations, as this festival gathers visitors from around the world in Oaxaca to witness the celebration.
August
Assumption of the Virgin Mary – AUGUST 20th - 22nd
Celebrated throughout the country with special masses and in some places with processions.
September
Independence Day – SEPTEMBER 15th – 16th
Mexico celebrates the independence from Spain. Day of parades, picnics and family reunions throughout the country. The schedule of events is the same in every village, town, and city across Mexico, following that of the capital: At 11pm on September 15, the president of Mexico gives the famous independence grito (shout) from the National Palace in Mexico City. People crowd into the central plaza to hear it and to watch the traditional fireworks display that follows. A parade follows the following morning.
October
Día de la Raza (“Ethnicity Day” or Columbus Day) – OCTOBER 12th
Commemorates the fusion of the Spanish and Mexican peoples.
November
Day of the Dead – NOVEMBER 1st - 2nd
What’s commonly called the Day of the Dead is actually 2 days: All Saints’ Day — honoring saints and deceased children — and All Souls’ Day, honoring deceased adults. Relatives gather at cemeteries countrywide, carrying candles and food, often spending the night beside graves of loved ones. Weeks before, bakers begin producing bread formed in the shape of mummies or round loaves decorated with bread “bones.” Decorated sugar skulls emblazoned with glittery names are sold everywhere. Many days ahead, homes and churches erect special altars laden with Day of the Dead bread, fruit, flowers, candles, favorite foods, and photographs of saints and of the deceased. On the 2 nights, children dress in costumes and masks, often carrying mock coffins and pumpkin lanterns, into which they expect money will be dropped, through the streets. Cemeteries around Oaxaca are well known for their solemn vigils and some for their Carnaval-like atmosphere.
Revolution Day – NOVEMBER 20th
Commemorates the start of the Mexican Revolution in 1910 with parades, speeches, rodeos and patriotic events.
National Silver Fair – NOVEMBER 29th to DECEMBER 6th, Taxco
A competition of Mexico’s best silversmiths and some of the world’s finest artisans. Features exhibits, concerts, dances, and fireworks.
December
Feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe – DECEMBER 12th
Throughout the country the patroness of Mexico is honored with religious processions, street fairs, dancing, fireworks, and masses. It is one of Mexico’s most moving and beautiful displays of traditional culture. The Virgin of Guadalupe appeared to a young man, Juan Diego, in December 1531, on a hill near Mexico City. He convinced the bishop that he had seen the apparition by revealing his cloak, upon which the Virgin was emblazoned. It’s customary for children to dress up as Juan Diego, wearing mustaches and red bandanas. Every village celebrates this day, often with processions of children carrying banners of the Virgin and with charreadas (rodeos), bicycle races, dancing, and fireworks. December 12.
Christmas Posadas – DECEMBER 15th to 24th
On each of the 9 nights before Christmas, it’s customary to reenact the Holy Family’s search for an inn, with door-to-door candlelit processions in cities and villages nationwide. You may see them especially in Taxco. These are also hosted by most businesses and community organizations, taking the place of the northern tradition of a Christmas party.
Christmas
Mexicans extend this celebration and leave their jobs often beginning 2 weeks before Christmas all the way through New Year’s. Many businesses close, and resorts and hotels fill up. Significant celebrations take place on December 23. In Oaxaca it’s the “Night of the Radishes,” with displays of huge carved radishes, as well as elaborate figures made of corn husks and dried flowers. On the evening of December 24 in Oaxaca, processions culminate on the central plaza.
New Year’s Eve – DECEMBER 31st
As in the rest of the world, New Year’s Eve in Mexico is celebrated with parties, fireworks, and plenty of noise. Special festivities take place at Tlacolula, near Oaxaca, with commemorative mock battles for good luck in the New Year.
