Between midnight of September 15th and September 16th, 1810 a group of revolutionary people started the fight so that the Kingdom of New Spain would be free from the Spanish Crown that had dominated for more than 200 years.
Mexicans all over the world celebrate this day with friends sharing food and good times. The celebration in Mexico is a huge deal since it’s the nation’s birthday. There are official celebrations involving the president and other government members in every state of the country, and they get out on a balcony and say some words to celebrate the heroes who gave us a country. It is known as “El Grito,” and afterward, there are fireworks, music, and food all over the country.
I would say that people get excited around this day with festivities and organize parties with their friends and families to play typical Mexican games and eat traditional food, which is very hard to get when you are abroad. This food is called “antojitos,” and the variety of it is so wide because it depends on every state and region. This is something I miss every year around September. Occasionally I have attempted at making it myself, but it is too much work.
So, every year I decorate my house with traditional Mexican decorations similar to what you would find here for the 4th of July, and I prepare traditional Mexican food even if it is not what you would typically eat for this festivity in Mexico.
Since moving abroad, I try to maintain our traditions, and especially since having children; I feel it is important for them to feel proud of their heritage and to not only know about our culture but to live it.
Back home in the Netherlands, we had a very strong Mexican community, and it is something that I miss dearly. We would celebrate this day dressing up, cooking, and with activities for the children. But I am a woman who doesn’t let any obstacles interfere in my plans, so I will do something exciting and different this year in the United States so we can keep celebrating in a fun way.
This year we decided to host a Mexican dinner party with our friends and share some of our culture with them.
Our neighbors have been very welcoming to us, and the kids have asked questions about Mexico to our oldest child, so we thought this could be an opportunity to share our culture with them and for our boy to feel proud of being Mexican and celebrate this important event for our country.
I’m looking forward to it, and if you want to be part of the preparations, I usually share every bit on my social media on @unaregiaporelmundo on Instagram.
