Christmas is the time of year when in the Mexican culture many can relate to what is known as tamale season. All Mexican families have their own traditions during this time of year but you can count that it all revolves around cooking specialty dishes such as pozole, mole or the well known tamales. The possibility is endless of the amount of traditional food you should expect to see served as it is a time of year when many families come together surrounded by drinks, food and great company as they reflect on the year altogether.
"In Mexican-American culture, there is a time each holiday season, beginning around Thanksgiving, when all foods except tamales recede. We eat them fresh at home, one after another, until their corn-husk wrappers are piled high on the table. We pack two or three for lunch at the office, futilely hoping that the microwave doesn’t leave them a soggy mess. We bring tamales by the bagful to holidays gatherings, trading them like baseball cards with friends and cousins—I’ll give you some of my Tía Meme’s pineapple tamales if you hook me up with the potato ones from your Guatemalan sister-in-law. And, once we’ve put on the pounds (the Freshman Fifteen has nothing on the Tamale Ten) and sworn to reform our ways in the new year, we freeze what’s left to extend the holiday cheer."