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EveryMasala

Next: 16 to 24 Dec 2026

Las Posadas

Nine nights of processions before Christmas, ending in warm ponche de frutas with cinnamon, tamarind and cane.

A tile drawn for this day, not a photograph.

Spices for Las Posadas

From 16 to 24 December, neighbourhoods in Mexico reenact the search for lodging with songs, piñatas and food. The drink of the night is ponche navideño, a hot fruit punch of apple, guava, tejocote, hibiscus, tamarind and sugar cane, simmered with cinnamon sticks and cloves. Tamales, wrapped in corn husk, are filled with chillies and pork. Atole is stirred with vanilla and cinnamon. It is a cold-season celebration of warm spice.

The spices

CinnamonIn the hot punch and atole.CloveStud the fruit punch.TamarindTart note of ponche.
About this page

Written by the EveryMasala desk with AI assistance. Background: "Posadas" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly digest

Every Monday: seven spices you may not know, what is cooking this week, and one blend explained step by step.