“The solstice has been a very important and recognized event throughout ancient cultures. The Aztecs celebrated at this time the birth of the “Boy Sun”.
The legend says:
There was a beautiful woman named Coatlicue mother of 400 adult sons and one daughter named Coyolzauhqui. She found herself sweeping with great devotion her sacred temple. From the heavens, a ball of fine blue hummingbird feathers fell. With great devotion, she swept them and put them on her breast to finish her task. When she was done the ball of feathers disappeared, and at that moment Coatlicue became pregnant. Soon after her sons became aware of her pregnancy and most of them became enraged thinking of the dishonor she had succumbed to. Furious, they cried: “who impregnated her? Who did this? What a disgrace!”
Provoked by their sister, who screamed: “brothers, she has disrespected us. We have to kill her!”
When poor Coatlicue heard these words, she became very afraid and heartbroken but a voice inside of her would whisper: “Mother don’t be afraid, I know what I need to do”. At the same time, her 400 sons were gathering, infuriated, deciding whether to kill her for the shame she had brought upon them, instigated by their sister’s words.
The brothers proceeded to arm themselves and get ready for war, but between them, there was an ally to Huitzilopochtli who kept him informed, and he warned him: “they are determined to finish with your mother.” Determined and guided by their sister, armed with sharp arrows, they started their journey. When they finally reached their mother after the long voyage, that same instant, Huitzilopochtli was born. He was attired in the same way as his brothers, fully armed and ready for war with a shield of eagle feathers, darts, a blue turquoise spear, and a blue feather aigrette. In the great battle, Huitzilopochtli, with his serpent ally, was able to disperse his brothers while the serpent decapitated his sister. He took his sister’s head and threw it to the heavens. She became the Moon while his brothers were the stars.
The Aztecs believed that during the winter solstice (December 21st), the Sun had traveled through the celestial vault dying on December 20th. The Boy Sun went to Mictlan (the place of death), where he transformed himself into a hummingbird and returned. The Aztecs celebrated Huitzilopochtli during this time. They decorated their homes with paper flags, and they had races and processions; they danced and sang. They would make a sculpture of amaranth and honey in the shape of their god, and on December 25th, when the hummingbird reappeared, they would eat the sculpture together.
From this festival, the posadas were born. This story seems familiar to the story of another child born close to the solstice. This celebration for Huitzilopochtli was used by the Spanish after the conquest to get rid of the pagan gods and start evangelization to Catholicism. This celebration during the Aztec month of Panquetzaliztli (December 7th to 26th) was transformed into nine days of posadas, symbolizing the 9 months of pregnancy of the Virgin Mary with Christ.