Birthday a la Mexicana

Happy September!

September is my birthday month. I love how the Michigan weather’s slow transitions from icky, hot and humid to refreshing and cool while still having the company of the sun in evening. The trees supply us with a sort of nature’s confetti, made up of leaves mixed with fiery oranges, matted reds and withered yellows. My favorite birthday traditions are the pinata and the Tres leches (Three Milks) cake or choco (chocolate) flan. Pinatas are a birthday tradition that originated in Mexico but now can be found worldwide. Traditionally pinatas were round, composed of clay. Now, how a pinata is made can vary. They can be made from papier machie covered cardboard boxes or balloons and broken open by a blind folded person swinging a large stick. For a more user-friendly option, pull string pinatas are used in small places or indoors. Whatever they are made of, they are often filled with candies, money, fruit and occasionally flour or rice to execute a prank on an unexpected crowd.

We gather around the birthday cake with our loved ones and friends. Instead of singing happy birthday we sing “Las Mañanitas” (“Little Mornings”). Those of us who are Mexican American or have been in the United States for a while, also sing “Happy birthday”. Afterwards the guests begin to shout “Mordida, mordida!” Take a bite, Take a bite!  The birthday person will began to put their face in the cake to give it a bite. Often someone will come from behind and push their face into cake. It is very entertaining to look at. This should not be done with a small cake.

Being raised Mexican I was curios to learn what birthday traditions are celebrated in other parts of the world. With help from google I found a few other traditions from around the world. The article I liked the most is from Readers Digest and can be found here. https://www.readersdigest.co.uk/inspire/life/unique-birthday-traditions-around-the-world

Happy Birthday to all of you, all year round.