In Mexico, birthdays are a pretty big deal. There are a lot of traditions associated with completing another year on Earth, and I got to experience some of them firsthand on April 2nd!
Some birthday traditions include singing a special birthday song called Las Mañanitas, which translates as The Little Mornings. It's a song specific to Mexico. After Las Mañanitas, it's very common to shout "¡mordida!" which means "bite! bite!" Whoever is next to the cumpleañera, or birthday girl, then shoves her face into the cake! This year, I got a face full of chocolate and laughed so much with my friends!
The lyrics of Las Mañanitas have their roots in the Bible, reflecting the deep Christian history of Mexico. La mordida is just a fun way to tease the birthday girl on her special day.
