The gowns for the niño Dios can cost from 50 pesos to several thousand pesos.
Diá de la Candelaria is mainly a religious and family celebration. Throughout México on February 2nd people dress up figures of baby Jesus and take it to the church to be blessed, as well as getting together with family and friends to eat tamales.
February 2nd falls forty days after Christmas and is celebrated by Catholics as the feast of the purification of the virgin or as the presentation of the lord. According to Jewish law a woman was considered unclean for 40 days after giving birth, so it was customary to bring a baby to the temple after that period of time had passed. According to this tradition Jesus would have been taken to the temple on February 2nd.
February 2nd also marks the mid-way point between the winter solstice and spring equinox. This may be a vestige of an old Pagan Tradition, since February 2nd has long been thought to be a marker or predictor of the weather to come.
Día de la Candelaria follows the festivities of Kings Day, which is celebrated on January 6th. This is day when children receive gifts and families and friends break bread together, specifically Rosca de Reyes; a special sweet bread with figurines hidden inside. The person (or people) who received the figurines on Kings Day is supposed to host a party on Diá de la Candelaria. Tamales are the food that is served on this special day.
As part of the celebration of Christ, many families own an image of the Christ child, a niño Dios. On Christmas Eve the niño Dios is placed in the Nativity scene; on January 6th, King’s Day, the child is brought presents from the Magi; and on February 2nd the niño Dios is dressed in fine clothes and presented in the church.
This ritual has produced a cottage industry, one of repairing old and broken figurines representing the niño Dios and making new clothes to be worn to the Candle Mass. Here in Mazatlán artisans on Venustiano Carranza were busily painting and repairing broken dolls, while others sewed colorful clothes. The gowns for the niño Dios can cost from 50 pesos to several thousand pesos.
Candle Mass was held at Catedral Basílica de la Inmaculada Concepción in El Centro, headed by Bishop Mario Espinosa Contreras. Rubí Lerma, a parishioner from Fraccionamiento Lomas de Mazatlán, said “For 43 years I have been bringing my niño Dios to the Catedral. My grandmother gave the niño Dios to me. I have kept it with great care, as it is now very fragile. Every year I buy it new clothes….”
(from Noroeste)
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