Visiting Mexico to help Santo Clos

Hey kids! I'm Fly-About Franny back for another year at The North Pole Times. My job is to fly around before Christmas every year checking to see how boys and girls around the world celebrate Christmas. Santa says it's a very important job or he would end up delivering the wrong toys to the wrong children. For my first trip of the year, Santa has sent me to Mexico! Do you know where Mexico is? It's the southernmost part of North America, with the United States to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Gulf of Mexico to the east. Life in Mexico can be very different depending on where you live, some people live in big cities, some near the coasts and some in small towns.

When travelling through Mexico in December you might notice a lot of people use a poinsettia flower to decorate. People like to use the poinsettia for Christmas because it's red and has a beautiful star shape. In the northern part of Mexico, Santo Clos, comes on Christmas Day to bring children big presents, and then a few weeks later children get smaller gifts from Los Reyes Magos, known as the Three Wise Men. Also on Christmas Day children gather and swing a stick at a decorated piñata. When they break the piñata open all the kids rush to get the gifts and candy that falls to the ground. The Christmas Feast is a big part of the Mexican celebration. People shop at various local markets to get ingredients they need to prepare the meal. Families pick up a sweetbread called the Rosca de Reyes from bakeries. The bread comes in all sizes, depending on the size of your family, and it's decorated with candied fruit. Each person cuts a slice of the Rosca de Reyes for themselves and tries to find a hidden figurine of the Baby Jesus that the baker puts in. Mexicans enjoy other food on Christmas from other cultures as well. From the Spanish they use tamales, which has a corn wrapper that is filled with meats, cheese, vegetables or anything else that's tasty! From the Native American's the Mexicans have included delicious hot chocolate to drink at their meal. What a historic and diverse celebration!

Now that we've discovered how kids in Mexico celebrate Christmas, when Santa visits he'll be able to give the boys and girls great toys and gifts! Hopefully for this Christmas you'll get and give some wonderful gifts and also get to spend time with your family and friends! Remember come back every day to visit us at The North Pole Times for new stories and I'll see you next Friday!