Most people today think of piñatas as a party favor that is made of paper mâché and clothed in bright colors and is filled with different candy and toys. Millions of people use piñatas all the time for very different occasions like; birthdays, parties and other traditional Spanish holidays. But no one really knows where the piñatas were originally founded and the rich history behind them.
Piñatas have originally originated in China but at the time in the 14th century they were not yet known as piñatas. It was not until the late 14th century when an Italian explorer named Marco Polo visited china and was very interested in the Chinese ritual that was practiced every New Year. He watched the Chinese making figures of shapes cut out of cows, oxen and even buffaloes and they filled those shapes with seeds and then they covered the shapes with colorful paper and then they adorned them with harnesses and trappings. The Chinese used a blend of special colors to bring in the New Year. Then those figures were hung up high and then knocked hard with different color sticks. When the figure would break and all of the seeds spilled to the ground they would burn all of the remains and the people would gather the ashes for good luck in the new year. This ritual was later passed into Europe around the 14th century where it was used to celebrate Lent. The first Sunday was known as Piñata Sunday which was the first Sunday after Ash Wednesday. Around the 16th century this custom started to spread into Spain. Within the Spanish culture the first Sunday was known as lent was now known as a fiesta called "Dance of the Piñata".
The "Dance of the Piñata" is where the piñata ritual had began. It was brought to Mexico by the Spanish conquistadors in early 16th century. In the earlier days the Spanish missionaries would use the piñata as a tool to attract and convert the Aztec Indians to Christianity through religious ceremonies. In these ceremonies the Spanish used a clay pot...