Barbecue, fruitcake, and pecan pie all have their place at the table during the holidays, but it wouldn’t be a true Texas Christmas, especially for many Latino or Hispanic families, without tamales.
“Christmas in Texas wouldn’t be complete without tamales,” says the Latin Times.
Tamales, according to Rhett Rushing, folklorist at San Antonio’s Institute of Texan Cultures, have been traditional Christmas Eve fare for centuries because they're portable, easy to store, and inexpensive to make for large gatherings.
Interestingly, tamales predate Christianity, with some archeologists believing Mesoamericans ate tamale-type dishes as long as 7,000 to 8,000 years ago.
“The thinking is that over time tamales became associated with special occasions and as the Mexican population was eventually Christianized, the tradition was transferred to the most important holiday on the Christian calendar,” explained Texas Monthly. “Which is why, come the holiday season, it is common for Mexican, Mexican-Texan, and Mexican-American families and friends to gather in kitchens big and small for annual tamaladas, or tamale making parties.”
The Texas Monthly describes the tamale as one of the stars of the Mexican kitchen, and the food has ancient roots, dating back to the Mayans and Aztecs.
“A delicious treat made with masa and a filling of the tamalera’s (tamale maker) choosing. There’s beef, chicken, bean, bean and cheese, squash, sweet corn, and on and on and on. The tamale options are infinite,” said the magazine.
This simple layer of corn masa around a meat filling, steamed in a husk, has been around for centuries and is tied to holidays and celebrations.
The Latin Times says that this portable food originated in Mesoamerican cultures during pre-Columbian times.
“The Aztecs, Mayas, Mixtecs, Olmecs, Toltecs, and Zapotecs, who once depended on such preparations for sustenance, passed down their culinary traditions through the generations,” said the publication. “As tamales became a convenient and portable food option, they were frequently utilized by men during periods of battle or while on hunting expeditions. There is a theory that, for certain indigenous communities, this Mexican dish became one of the offerings to deities.”
The word Tamale can be traced back to the Aztec language Nahuatl and the word “tamalii,” which loosely translates to “wrapped food.”
Over time, the tamale became associated with the Christian holidays and was brought North to Texas with the migration of the Tejano population.
Tamales are associated most closely during the holiday season with Los Posadas and Noche Buena.
“If you grew up in Mexico — or in a Mexican community abroad — then you are certainly familiar with the late-December celebration of Las Posadas,” says Tasting Table. “A deeply entrenched Mexican Christmas tradition, the nine nights of festivities — running from the 16th to the 24th each year, according to Learn Religions — can be thought of as a uniquely Mexican take on Christmas caroling, in which groups of families and friends stroll the streets singing and celebrating — and ultimately, feasting.”
Los Posadas is a nine-night reenactment of Mary and Joseph’s search for shelter, and it brings neighbors together for song, prayer, and shared meals, which often feature tamales.
For many Texans, tamales are a touchstone of Christmas Eve or Nochebuena, where families gather to share meals. Tamales are a must for these celebrations, and for families that don’t make their own, they sometimes receive them as gifts from others, or often wait in long queues to buy the food.
“On the 24th (of December), it’s a never-ending line. I think we prepare all-year long. We already know what to expect,” said Leah Grier of Tamales Lupita in El Paso, which the week before Christmas stops making all items on their menus except for tamales. “We don’t have the room to cook everything else and the tamales. So we need all the stoves to keep up with the amount of tamales that we’re selling.”
The making of tamales is a labor-intensive effort, and the tamaladas, where family and friends gather to make the food together, are the strongest part of the tradition.
“Through the years, the preparation of the labor-intensive food became a social event, called a tamalada, as womenfolk from ranches across Mexico and what's now the American Southwest gathered to prepare the Christmas Eve feast,” reported NPR.
Possibly the best way to understand the tamaladas tradition is to read about the Austin-area Ruiz family. According to Texas Monthly in 2017, the gathering had been going on for 45 years.
Tamaladas are social events as much as culinary events, as family members bond, share memories, and spend precious time together in the kitchen.
“While they are not difficult to make, preparing the fillings and masa—a flour made of corn soaked in lime juice and water—and spreading, folding, tying, and steaming the tamales is quite labor intensive. On tamalada day, we start at 10 a.m. and work into the early evening,” wrote Laura Wilmot Sheehy in Folklife.
She describes how her grandmother “Mamo” would prepare for the tamalada by cooking meats overnight, often in five different pots and Crock-Pots. She would also soak corn husks overnight to be ready for the next day.
A tamalada features assembly lines of helpers who spoon the masa (dough made from ground nixtamalized corn), meat, and other fillings onto the corn husks, and then tie them with a string so they are ready to be steamed.
The tamales produced will be enough to spread holiday cheer to friends and family, with the Ruiz family making 225 dozen tamales during their tamalada.
Not everyone can participate in a tamalada, but fortunately, in Texas, there are plenty of places to purchase your perfect holiday tamales.
Here are a few tips to make sure you are prepared for Christmas Eve and other special occasions:
Tamales are a great Texas holiday tradition, so make sure you share some this year with your family and friends.