In the race to captivate the hearts of Mexican children during the holiday season, Santa Claus and his sleigh seem to be pulling ahead of the traditional Three Kings by a nose. And can that nose be the glowing proboscis of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer? As late as the 1960s you couldn't find many traces of the jolly fat man in the red suit in most of Mexico, although vendors in the public markets did display a few sparse-needled Christmas trees. Mexican children were more likely to leave a shoe under the bed in hopes that the Three Kings would bring them a little gift. They would wake up in the morning to find a few candies and maybe a small toy in the shoe. But it wasn't on the morning of Dec. 25. Rather, they had to wait till Jan. 6 -- Three Kings Day -- to get their holiday treat. These days, though, most Mexican children enjoy the best of both worlds: gifts from Santa's pack on Christmas and treats from the Three Kings on Jan. 6, Little Christmas.

The Posadas

One of the most beloved old-time customs of the Mexican Christmas season is the Posada. This traditional pre-Christmas observance still takes place, but it is becoming rarer. These days the term "posada" just means a Christmas party. The time-honored Posada (or "inn" ) season begins on Dec. 16 and continues each night through Christmas Eve. Legend has it that the practice was begun by the early Spanish missionaries as a way to bring home the story of the birth of Christ to the native peoples they were trying to convert. To follow the traditional form, on an evening during the Posada season a family and friends gather to pray the rosary in front of a "nacimiento" or creche representing the Bethlehem scene. Then they form a candlelight procession headed by someone carrying the Mary and Joseph figures on a tray. Sometimes the procession includes children dressed as Mary and Joseph, with perhaps the Mary character riding on a live burro. They march outdoors around a patio or along a street where neighbors have agreed to participate, singing "villancicos" (carols) in which they ask for "posada" or shelter in the inn. The parade of pilgrims reaches a doorway, a real or imaginary one, and meets two or three "landlords" who refuse to let them in. The pilgrims move on to another house, another door, another landlord. Finally, after several verses of song asking for posada and several verses of refusal, they find an agreeable landlord and are admitted to a home where they celebrate by singing more songs and sometimes setting off fireworks. They drink hot fruit punch (the adults may lace theirs with optional rum or brandy). The children line up in order of size to be blindfolded and whack on a piñata. When it breaks they scramble for the goodies -- traditionally, lengths of sugar cane, mandarin oranges, peanuts in their shells, wrapped candies and maybe a few small toys or coins. All ages join in on the celebration, from babies on the laps of the grannies to younger folks dancing to lively popular music.The fiesta may continue until the wee hours. Snacks of some sort, especially tamales, will be served as the night wears on. To this day, some families organize posadas in their homes on every one of the nine nights starting Dec. 16. But on Dec. 24, Noche Buena, the pattern of the evening changes somewhat. After the rosary and the procession, the Christ child figure is placed in his little bed of straw in the creche. The piñatas and the party go on as before, perhaps interrupted for a walk to church to attend a late-night Mass. Then a more elaborate supper is served. The menu usually includes turkey or some other roast meat, and Ensalada de Noche Buena (Christmas Eve salad). Visitors to Mexico may see the charming Posada custom reenacted in a more formal and respectful way at local churches on one or more evenings of the Posada season.

Pastorelas

Like the Posadas and the passion plays of the Easter season, they stem from the early Spanish missionaries' efforts to teach the Indians the traditions of Christianity. The main characters of the pastorelas are shepherds and angels, the angels appearing before the shepherds to lead them to the Christ child in the manger. There are variations on this theme, depending on whose version of the pastorela is being staged, but the shepherds attempt to follow the star of Bethlehem and, sometimes after a few misadventures, they finally reach their goal. In most places -- be it a church or an actual stage -- the pastorela is accompanied by music and singing.

The Nacimiento

Until a few decades ago, the creche was the principal Christmas decoration in most Mexican homes. Christmas trees now cross the border by the forestful, but the nativity scene, or nacimiento, remains a centerpiece of the home's holiday decor. The statuettes include Mary and Joseph, the Three Kings, shepherds, sheep and other farm animals, angels and a little bed of straw which remains empty until Christmas Eve. The statuettes may be small or large, and the scene may be populated by many more figures, but those mentioned always are part of a typical nacimiento.

Noche Buena

Christmas Eve (the Good Night), as mentioned, is the climax of the Christmas festivities. Mexican families used to attend a late-night Misa de Gallo (Rooster's Mass) which these days more likely takes place between 6 and 8 p.m. rather than midnight. People then go home to a supper which may include homemade tamales and atole (corn gruel) or may be a more elaborate feast of chicken, turkey or other roast meat. And possibly, there will be bacalao (dried cod) or an assortment of regional treats. Ensalada de Noche Buena, a weird concoction that includes lettuce, beets and peanuts as traditional ingredients, is also a mainstay on the menu. Incidentally, La Flor de Noche Buena or Christmas Eve flower lends color to most Mexican homes during the season. Dr. Joel R. Poinsett, a 19th-century U.S. ambassador to Mexico, discovered the blooms that flourished during the short, dark days of winter. When his appointment ended, he took cuttings home to Charleston, S.C., with the idea of cultivating the plant there. Obviously, his experiments were successful and gained for the ambassador a fame for all posterity: the poinsettia.

The Holy Innocents

Don't believe everything the local newspapers or Mexican friends have to say on Dec. 28. That is the Day of the Holy Innocents (the male infants that King Herod ordered to be slaughtered in hopes that one of them would be the Christ child). It has evolved in Mexico into a sort of April Fool's day, and practical jokers will be on the prowl to catch the unwary (the "innocents") and have a few laughs. The newspapers go along with the gag by printing outrageous stories and shocking headlines -- all in fun, of course.

Los Reyes Magos

On Three Kings Day, Jan. 6, Mexican children are sure to find a little toy and a candy or two under their beds. Later, after the evening meal, the adults and their friends will share a "Rosca de Reyes." This is a large donut-shaped loaf of sweet bread containing raisins, glace fruit and one or more small plastic figurines of the Christ child. The fun of the rosca party is finding out who got the piece of bread with the Christ child in it since that person is expected to invite all those sharing the rosca to a party on Feb. 2 (Dia de la Candelaria, or Candlemas Day). Whether for reasons of thrift or to mystify the others, some participants have been known to swallow a two-inch chunk of hard plastic rather than own up to finding the Christ child in their slice of the rosca.