Day of Candelaria tamales: the 2 February tradition

What is it?

The Day of Candelaria tamales are the central dish of the Mexican celebration of 2 February, a Catholic feast of the Presentation of the Child Jesus at the temple. Whoever found the baby Jesus figures hidden in the Rosca de Reyes on 6 January is committed to bringing tamales and atole for everyone present on this date, closing a ritual cycle of almost two months that began with the posadas. The tamales can be any regional variety: green tamales with chicken, red with pork, mole, rajas, sweetcorn, sweet, Oaxacan in banana leaf, or northern in maize husk. The celebration brings together families, offices, schools and neighbourhoods around the table with freshly made tamales, hot atole, café de olla and conversation. It is one of the liveliest and most multitudinous gastronomic rituals of the national calendar.

Origin and history

The 2 February celebration combines two traditions: the Presentation of the Child Jesus at the temple (40 days after Christmas, according to the Jewish tradition of purification) and the pre-Hispanic celebration of the start of the maize agricultural cycle, which coincided with the nearby equinox. Larousse Cocina notes that for Mesoamerican peoples February was the start of sowing and tamales (a sacred maize food) were an offering to Chalchiuhtlicue and Tláloc, gods of water. After the Conquest, Catholic friars merged the celebrations: the blessing of candles (Candelaria) on 2 February was associated with the blessing of seeds for sowing, and tamales remained as a ritual dish. México Desconocido documents that the specific connection with the Rosca de Reyes (whoever pulls the baby pays for the tamales) consolidated in the nineteenth century as a popular practice. Today it is one of the liveliest traditions of Mexican ceremonial cooking, with massive consumption of tamales on 2 February. The Government of Mexico officially recognises the tradition.

Characteristic ingredients

The tamales for 2 February can be any Mexican regional variety, although the most popular are: green tamales (masa with lard, green tomatillo salsa and shredded chicken), red tamales (chile guajillo and ancho sauce with shredded pork), mole tamales (masa with red or poblano mole and chicken), rajas tamales (strips of chile poblano with queso fresco), sweet sweetcorn tamales (with sweetcorn kernels, sugar and cinnamon), Oaxacan tamales (wrapped in banana leaf, with mole negro or amarillo). The basic masa combines fresh nixtamalised maize masa or masa harina (Maseca, Maíz Maya), lard or vegetable shortening whipped until fluffy, broth, salt and baking powder. It is filled, wrapped in leaves (dried maize husks for northern and central varieties, banana leaf for southern and Gulf ones), and steamed for 60-90 minutes in an aluminium steamer or traditional tamale pot. The accompanying atole can be of chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, guava, pinole, rice or white atole with masa.

Cultural significance

The Day of Candelaria with tamales is one of the liveliest and most participatory gastronomic traditions of the Mexican calendar, present in absolutely all social strata, ages and regions of the country. The date closes the ritual cycle posadas-Christmas-New Year-Reyes-Candelaria, which lasts almost two months and articulates national festive life. The tamale economy experiences its second great annual peak on 2 February (the first is 1 and 2 November for Day of the Dead); millions of tamales are sold in markets, tamale shops, corner stands and tianguis. The ritual chain of rosca-Niño-tamales-atole brings together extended families, work colleagues and neighbours, strengthening community ties. Traditional Mexican cuisine was recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2010, and tamales (present in every region) are one of its pillars. Cultural syncretism is clearly expressed: the Christian candle, the pre-Hispanic sowing of maize, the European Rosca de Reyes and the Mesoamerican tamales come together on a single date.

Frequently asked questions

Why are tamales eaten on 2 February?

2 February combines the Catholic feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the temple (Candelaria) with the pre-Hispanic tradition of the start of the maize agricultural cycle, in which tamales were a ritual offering to the water gods. The Mexican tradition adds that whoever pulled the baby Jesus figures from the Rosca de Reyes on 6 January must bring tamales for everyone on this date, closing the Christmas cycle.

What is the difference between Candelaria tamales and Day of the Dead tamales?

There is no technical difference in the tamales themselves: both celebrations use the same regional varieties (green, red, mole, sweet, Oaxacan). The difference is ritual and semantic: those of 2 November are an offering to the souls of the dead; those of 2 February are a festive community payment derived from the Rosca de Reyes game and the blessing of seeds.

How are tamales served on 2 February?

They are served hot freshly taken from the steamer, still wrapped in their leaves. Each diner opens their tamale, eats it with extra tortilla if they wish and accompanies it with a cup of hot atole (chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, guava or pinole) or café de olla. The gathering is informal, at home, the office or collective tamale shops, and is usually breakfast or social dinner on 2 February.

Where does the tradition of tamales on Candelaria come from?

It comes from Mexican cultural syncretism: the Catholic feast of Candelaria (Presentation of Jesus, 2 February) overlapped with the pre-Hispanic celebration of the start of the maize cycle in February, in which tamales were a ritual offering. The connection with the Rosca de Reyes (on 6 January) is a Mexican popular invention of the nineteenth century that articulates a festive cycle unique in the Hispanic world.