The Pinata Tradition and Pinata History

Most people think of piñatas today as a fun activity for parties. Children love them. Piñatas can be found in all shapes and sizes. Many represent cartoons and other characters known to most children. Others are shaped like fruits, baskets, rockets, etc. One's imagination is the limit.

The history of the piñata is fascinating and reveals many interesting facts about piñatas that go beyond the playing of a game, though piñatas certainly have always been intended for fun.

As a result of Marco Polo's adventures into China, he introduced this custom, which was adopted by the Italians, Spanish and the French. The Chinese were well known for making objects in the shape of cows, bulls, and other animals covered with different colored paper, and hung a variety of farming tools from these figures. The Italian word pignatta means "fragile pot" and originally made of clay. The origin of the piñata is Chinese not Hispanic. It was used to celebrate the coming of spring.

The custom was moved to Spain and originally part of their celebrations for Lent. The Spanish called the game "Piñata." The actual clay container was called "olla," the Spanish word for pot. At first it was not decorated. Later, people began to put paper figures around it.

Originally, the piñatas were filled with candies, apples, and pears, fruits wrapped in paper. The candies were called colacions which were a flour based, cooked candy with a seed in the middle. The seeds were selected from cilantro, anise or mustard. The little baskets of colacions were made in advance and available primarily to help avoid hard feelings and tears from the children who missed their opportunity to collect any of the piñata candy, and passed around before the party was over.

Many cultures use Piñatas such as: Latin Americans, Americans, and Mexicans, Africans and Europeans to name a few. People in Hawaii use piñatas at birthday parties and to celebrate New Years. Today piñatas have lost their religious symbolism, but are still enjoyed at social gatherings and celebrations.

Before attempting to hit the piñata, the person covered their eyes, symbolically to protect him from being enticed by the piñata. After hitting the piñata the person made a resolution from the following choices: Doing good deeds; Becoming a better person; Being kinder; Being more patient; Getting along with others.

Some of the colors that are used to decorate piñatas are bright red, white and green. These colors represent or symbolize the Mexican flag. Many ethnic representations are created and used as decorative centerpieces.

Traditions have changed and piñatas are now created into cartoon characters, hero's and animals to name a few categories…Adults as well as children use piñatas for celebrations such as: birthdays, picnics, baptisms, graduations, holidays, reunions, fundraisers and even business promotionals.