There were many celebrations connected with the Christmas season in Old New Mexico, ranging from la posadas, or reenactments of the Christ Child’s birth, to midnight masses on Christmas Eve, to dances at the Rio Grande Pueblos.

However, in New Mexico, the merry making didn’t end on December 25. A week later came Los Días de Los Manueles. January 1 is the feast of Emmanuel, another name for Jesus Christ, and therefore the name day of people christened Manuel or Manuela.

To honor these people, the new year would start just after midnight. The entire community came out under the night sky to visit the homes of anyone named Manuel or Manuela, sing songs in their honor, and feast on posole, chile, and bizcochitos, among other New Mexican traditional foods.

If you happened to live in the village of Ranchos de Taos south of Taos, you would also be honored with dances performed by villagers of Comanche and Hispanic heritage. The performers would start at the church in the plaza and then proceed to the homes of the name day honorees. They performed a set of dances at each location, including a buffalo dance (El Toro), an eagle dance (El Áquila), an enemy dance (El Espantao), courtship dances, and a captivity dance (La Rueda) during which someone is captured and ransomed. This tradition has continued into the 21st century and was enacted as late as 2019, as recorded in the video below. Some of the songs date to the middle 1700s.

What a great way to start the new year!

© Loretta Miles Tollefson

Source: Mary C. Montaño, Tradiciones Nuevomexicanas, Hispano Arts and Culture of New Mexico, UNM Press, Albuquerque, 2001