Piñata
The piñata is a bright container generally suspended on a rope from a tree branch or ceiling that is filled with candy and toys and is used during celebrations. A succession of blindfolded, stick-wielding children and some fun-loving adults will try to break the piñata in order to collect the candy inside of it. It has been used for hundreds of years to celebrate special occasions such as birthdays and Christmas, and Day of the Dead.
Spanish colonists are thought to have started the piñata tradition in Mexico; then the tradition went on to the Italians (pignatta).[citation needed] According to legend, Marco Polo introduced the piñata to the Italians after discovering it in the Orient.[citation needed]
Piñatas are made from easily breakable materials, such as straw, papier-mâché, or clay; traditionally they were made in the shape of human or animal figures (often a star or donkey [burro]) but, in recent times, vehicles, cartoon characters, or corporate mascots have gained in popularity. In some areas in Mexico and Central America, one finds small stores called piñaterías that are devoted exclusively to sales of piñatas.
In Mexico, the piñata is traditionally shaped like a seven-pointed star. It represents the devil and the seven deadly sins; hitting it with the stick makes him let go of the good things he has taken hold of.[citation needed] While hitting the piñata the following rhyme is sung:
- Dale, dale, dale,
- No pierdas el tino
- Porque si lo pierdes
- pierdes el camino.
- Dale, dale, dale
- Dale y no le dio
- Quítenle la prenda
- ¡Porque sigo yo!!
- ¡Se Acabó!
which translates as:
- Hit it, hit it, hit it (or Go, go, go)
- Don't lose your aim
- Because if you lose it (your aim)
- You will lose the path.
- Hit it, hit it, hit it (or Go, go, go)
- Hit it, He didn't hit it
- Take away his token
- Because it's now my turn!
- It's Over!
Over the past couple decades, the piñata tradition has been adopted by many Americans and has become a staple on America's Funniest Home Videos. They are also commonly sold at both regular grocery stores and Hispanic specialty supermarkets. With an increasing Hispanic population, the piñata tradition is expected to become part of American culture.
Other meanings
The word piñata was also used for the process whereby Nicaragua's former Sandinista leaders held on to property they had nationalized while in power. The successor government accepted these appropriations.