Get up, it is morning, look it is already dawn.Īnother great Mexican Birthday tradition is not just the eating of a birthday cake but the tradition of the first bite. The morning is coming now, the sun is giving us its light We all came with joy and pleasure to congratulate you How beautiful is the morning in which I come to greet you The birds are already singing and the moon has set Wake up, my dear, wake up, look it is already dawn This is the little morning song that King David sangīecause today is your saint's day and we are singing it for you Levántate de mañana, mira que ya amaneció. Ya viene amaneciendo, ya la luz del día nos dio,
Venimos todos con gusto y placer a felicitarte, Que linda está la mañana en que vengo a saludarte, Ya los pajarillos cantan, la luna ya se metió. Hoy por ser día de tu santo, te las cantamos a ti,ĭespierta, mi bien, despierta, mira que ya amaneció, When it is time to cut the cake you will hear the song “Las Mañanitas” which literally translates to the little morningsĮstas son las mañanitas, que cantaba el Rey David, It is great fun and many variations of what can be put into a piñata (adults only can be very interesting) and how the piñata is moved around can be made more or less challenging depending on who the participants are. Once it breaks open and all falls to the ground everyone scurries to collect up the prizes and candies. It generally takes several attempts by several people taking turns allowing all a chance to break the Piñata. They are then spun around a bit and let loose to try and hit the moving Piñata with the hopes of breaking it open for all the goodies to fall. Once the Piñata is ready then the participants circle around and someone is blindfolded and given a large stick like a broomstick or bat. They then fill the Piñata with lots of candies and small gifts and hang it high up on a line that can be moved up and down and side to side. These Piñatas come in all sizes and colors and are empty with a hole in the top somewhere. Piñatas are generally papier-mâché forms such as globes, stars or even people like cartoon characters. In celebration of a birthday in Mexico come a few great traditions such as the Piñata. In fact Mexicans do look at how many years you have completed and not how old you are! That shows much greater respect for the elderly people as they realize they have more experience with having completed more years.
Happy Birthday is said in Spanish as Feliz Cumpleanos which means literally “Happy Completed Years”! Which if you think of it is a much more positive way of looking at getting older.