Pinata

Breaking the piñata is a custom closely associated with the Christmas season throughout Latin America. After the piñata is suspended high in the air on a rope, the children are blindfolded one-by-one, then each of them is spun around several times and given a stick to strike at the treasure trove suspended over their heads. Excitement builds until a crash breaks the piñata at last, spilling peanuts, oranges, tangerines and sugar candy onto the ground and the children scramble to gather up the goodies.

In the tradition of the Posada Celebration, the piñata symbolizes the battle between good and evil. Although very beautiful, the piñata represents temptation, which must be smashed in order that good may come to all. Originally piñatas for the posada were shaped like stars to represent the star that Mary and Joseph followed to Bethlehem. The seven points of the star were symbolic of the Seven Deadly Sins. Other classic piñata shapes include animals, fruits, flowers, and more recently, popular comic strip characters.

The legendary explorer Marco Polo may have introduced piñatas to Italy after observing them during his travels in the Orient, where colored-paper figures of cows, oxen or buffalo heralded the beginning of the Chinese New Year. These animal shapes were filled with seeds and struck with sticks or branches, after which the decorative paper was burned. People collected the ashes and saved them in the belief that they would bring good luck throughout the coming year.

In Europe, the piñata took on a religious significance. On the first Sunday of Cuaresma (Lent), also called Piñata Sunday, a pot covered with colored paper and filled with candy was broken by parishioners, who were first blindfolded and rotated 33 times in memory of the number of years Christ lived on earth. Spanish conquistadors are credited with bringing piñatas to Mexico, where friars used them to instruct the natives on certain portions of the catechism. To them, the piñata represented:

FAITH—because we go around with bandaged eyes, depending on
voices to guide us
HOPE—because we watch the sky yearning for the prize
CHARITY—because if the piñata is broken and sin is destroyed, we
can share the wished-for gifts with others

"La Piñata" by Oscar Guzmán (in Spanish & English)
A Piñata Tradition