Description

• Piñatas are covered with colorful crepe paper.crape paper image by flashkralove from Fotolia.com
  
  Modern piñatas come in many different shapes. In addtion to animal shapes, they can be objects like race cars and guitars. The most traditional shape is that of a donkey. Another of the old-fashioned shapes is that of a ball with seven cones attached with streamers coming from the end of each cone; this shape dates back to about the 14th century when piñatas were used as religious symbolism. The cones symbolize the seven deadly sins and to hit the piñata was to fight evil.
  
  

Types of Pinatas

• In Spain and Italy piñatas were made from decorated clay pots rather than paper mache, which is easier to break. Another type of piñata is called a ribbon-pull piñata. This is a much less violent way to do a piñata game and is suitable for elderly guests and for small children. There is a series of ribbons at the bottom of the piñata, and each child takes a turn at pulling one of the ribbons--eventually enough ribbon will be pulled for the contents to spill out.
  
  

History

• The piñata is not native to Latin culture. They actually were first seen in China by Marco Polo, who brought them back to Europe with him. In China they were used to celebrate the New Year. In 14th-century Europe there was a holiday called Piñata Sunday. It was during the season of Lent, right before Easter. The practice spread to Spain where they celebrated the Dance of the Piñata fiesta and decorated a clay pot as the piñata. Piñatas were used to draw people into religious ceremonies by missionaries. They would make the piñata evil-looking to represent the Devil.
  
  

Filling the Pinata

• Most pinatas are filled with candy.multi-colored hard candy image by tradigi from Fotolia.com
  
  In most cases piñatas come hollow and empty. There is usually a hole in the bottom with a cork of some type and you must fill the cavity. It is traditional to put candy in the piñata but there are other things you can fill it with. You can use plastic toys, sticker, bottles of bubbles, boxes of raisins, pencils, erasers, small boxes of crayons and temporary tattoos. Most of these items can be found at any store that sells things for one dollar. It will take a lot to fill a piñata.
  
  

Playing the Game

• A baseball bat or large stick is used toEight year-old boy holding a baseball bat. image by Lisa Eastman from Fotolia.com
  
  It is suggested that small children do not participate in trying to break the piñata. Many times bashing the piñata seems a little violent for two-year-olds and it will frighten them. Use your own judgment. Once the piñata is filled, it is hung from a ceiling or is held by a rope over a branch of a tree. If possible, make sure the rope can move the piñata up and down, and have an adult manipulate the rope pulling it up for taller children and down for the shorter ones. Give each child a small bag to collect candy in, and line the children up in order of height. Blindfold the first child and hand him a baseball bat. Turn him around three times to disorient him and let him try to hit the piñata. Of course, once the pinata breaks, it's a free-for-all run for the candy.
  
  

Interesting Facts

• The largest piñata ever recorded was in Miami in March of 1990. It was for the Carnival celebration and was 27 feet tall and 10,000 pounds.
  
  You can use your pinata as a table centerpiece during the party, and when it is time for the game, remove it and hang it on a tree.
  
  

Warnings

• Always have an adult or two supervise a piñata game. Things can get rather heated and there needs to be adult control.
  
  Keep other children and adults at least 10 to 15 feet away from the person with the bat.