Brought to Mexico in the 16th century, the piñata tradition was already a Mayan practice commemorating the birthday of Huitzilopochtli. Priests would decorate a clay pot with colorful feathers. When the pot was broken with a stick or club, the treasures inside would fall to the feet of the idol as an offering. Augustinian monks in 1586 co-opted the celebration of Huitzilopochtli and recreated it as Las Posadas, a December celebration in an effort towards evangelism. Mexican Catholicism used the symbolism of the clay pot full of goodies as representations of the temptations of sin.

Today piñatas have lost their religious significance and enjoy a rich cultural life as a paper artform under the Mexican craft heading of "cartonería". In Mexico, piñatas remain most popular during Las Posadas with birthday parties coming in second. Traditional designs such as donkeys have almost entirely been replaced by cartoon characters based on U.S. movies and television shows.

Our cute little Frankenstein piñata sporting the seams and stitches of his brain transplant is dressed in a fine suit and tie and looks ready to go to work in a westernized Saturday morning cartoon version of his man-made monster of gothic terror counterpart.

Measures as: 3” X 1” X 1”