The Christmas Market

I made a couple of trips to Mexico City's Jamaica Market, hoping that, once the Day of the Dead was over, the stalls selling Christmas merchandise would be set up.  However, unlike Walmart, which was selling holiday stuff back in October, the Christmas booths which surround three sides of the perimeter of the market building were not yet in place.

My third trip last Saturday, during the long Revolution Day weekend, was the charm.  When I saw the stall next to the parking lot selling gigantic piñatas, I figured that the Christmas market was in full swing.

It amazes me, however, that, more than a month before the holiday, they are selling cut Christmas trees.  Will these trees make it through December 25th, much less the celebration of Epiphany on January 6th?

This fellow was building rustic stables for Nativity scenes.

In another stall, an entire family was making small piñatas.

You can buy moss to make the landscape of your Nativity scene look more realistic.

There were plenty of stalls selling mass-produced Christmas decorations that were probably made in China.  However, what I was looking for were the clay figurines which are a part of the traditional Mexican Nativity scenes.  Many Mexican families set up elaborate scenes which include an enormous cast of villagers, as well as animals, plants and buildings which turn Bethlehem into a slice Mexican rural life.

I ended up buying a number of pieces to add to my collection.

However, I am keeping these figures at the apartment rather than taking them back home.  If all goes to according to plan, by Christmas of 2023 I will have made the move to Mexico.