Quinceanera – Mexican Birthday Celebration for Girls

By Chief Cultivation Officer on April 28, 2014 in Archive, Cultural Birthday Celebrations

Here at Fire Blossom Candle Company, we love a good party. In this series we look at how people all over the world celebrate birthdays. Our first destination? Mexico!

Mexican Celebrations

Mexicans are known for their love of celebrations, from Dia de Los Muertos, Noche Buena to regional fiestas. Mexican birthdays are typically celebrated by throwing huge get togethers with family and friends that includes plenty of dancing and food. The biggest birthday celebration is known as a quinceañera or quince años.

What is a Quinceañera?

A quinceañera is a celebration of of a girl’s fifteenth birthday. It is reminiscent of a Sweet 16 Party or a cotillion. The young girl is dressed in a white ball gown and is usually accompanied with a court of her closest friends and family members. She is given a tiara to denote her status as princess and her transition from childhood to womanhood.

After a thanksgiving mass, a reception is held. Depending on the family, the reception may range from an intimate party at the celebrant’s home to a huge banquet that may rival a wedding reception. At the reception the birthday girl and her court dance a traditional waltz. Historically, Mexican girls could not dance in public until they turned fifteen. There are many other traditions incorporated in the reception depending on the region the young lady is from.

Our favorite tradition? The Ceremony of the 15 candles (FBC loves a good Candle Ceremony!). In this ceremony, the young lady delivers a fifteen candles to the people she considers to be the most important in her young life. There is usually a little speech that shares a special memory with that person.

If you are attending a Mexican birthday party or a quinceañera, dont forget to wish the celebrant feliz cumpleaños!