Sunday birthday with a touch of Mexico

Clare and I were up bright and early to walk over to St Nicholas' Parish Church for the eight o'clock Communion service together with about thirty others. When we got back, Clare cooked pancakes for breakfast. Rhiannon came down and opened her presents. Then at lunch-time her guests arrived, eight girls of her own age, for an afternoon of pizza, popcorn (made by Auntie Rachel's popcorn machine), and a movie on DVD. 

After the movie the girls were presented with a couple of piñata in the shape of brightly coloured donkeys to break open for the sweets and trinkets inside. I've never come across this custom before, but it originated in Mexico, then spread to Europe via Spain and Italy. Augustinian missionary friars adapted a Mayan game for catchetical purposes, making a breakable pottery container in the form of a seven pointed star to represent the seven deadly sins, in need of breaking attachment to, and yielding sweet rewards to those who could name them and remove them. 

The game took place originally on the first Sunday in Lent, a remarkable coincidence since that's what today is in the church's calendar, as well as being Rhiannon's eleventh birthday.

The custom has lost its religious significance, much as Christmas crackers and Easter eggs have, but breaking apart papier mache containers which now come in all shapes, sizes and themes proved a great way for the girls to let off steam after a couple of hours of sitting and chatting, which is what it seemed they most wanted to do even throughout the film, until this moment.

The climax of the party was a fine chocolate birthday cake, brought out to singing and cheers. The party required a great deal of parental background work and much organisation to succeed. By five, all the guests had departed, the house was more or less clean and tidy again and it was time for us to get on the road for home.