Dia del Niño-or Children’s Day/Day of the Child-is the Mexican holiday to celebrate children. Think of Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, only for kids. What a brilliant idea! Why don’t they have this in the States!? With how commercialized every other holiday is in America, Dia del Niño would be an absolute success. Think of the toy companies and Chuck E Cheese!
The extremely supportive parents at our school used their budget to throw the kids a party of carnival proportion. Classes were cancelled for one entire morning to celebrate children being children. There were tents for nachos, free toys, and games. Kids ran around from bowling stations to spoon races. Jump houses (brincolinas I think?) were inflated and rowdy boys bounced until the walls of the jump houses became the floors. My personal favorite was the musical chairs event, where every time the Mariachi music shut off, the kids scrambled to the empty chairs, accompanied by apocalyptic screams.
The core group of parents at the school passionately endorsed the day, as they do all other school activities. At the very least, reluctant adults gave in to the morning. The more serious children were bored by the carnival and didn't see the point, while others giddily ran about collecting free pencils and wistfully remembered all the Dias del Niños they had ever celebrated.
In a place with so little, the celebrations are so big. It makes you wonder: are they overcompensating for childhoods harder than I could imagine living even as an adult, or are they simply living and valuing what’s most important in life?
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