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Many party goers think of Pinatas as a party game with its origin tied to the lands of Mexico. Instead, however, the origins of pinatas can be traced to Italy. Originally known as pignatta (which means "fragile pot" in Italian), pinatas were made of clay. They often were shaped into a symbol of hospitality used throughout Italy, the shape of a pineapple. ™

From Italy, the custom of breaking pinatas, migrated to Spain where the custom became tied very closely to the celebration of Lent. It was at this point in history that the name changed from pignatta to pinata. The pinatas themselves were still made of clay at this point and known by the Spanish as an olla, which was their word for "pot." Although the first pinatas were plain clay pots, people eventually started to put paper figures on the pots for decorations. The Spanish pinata had a religious significance to them. They believed that the pinata represented Satan and it was made beautiful and bright in order to offer a temptation to the innocents who came into contact with it. The Candies and toys that were placed inside of it, were the temptations of Satan. The person breaking the pinata was always blindfolded in order to represent blind faith and the stick used to break pinatas was said to be the symbol of all that was good. This was important because "good" had to overcome "evil" or in this case, Satan. Once the goodness overcame the evil, the treats that spilled out were said to be justified rewards of living a "good" life.

From Spain, missionaries took the customs of pinatas into Mexico where the Aztecs found the custom to be very close to customs and celebrations of their own cultures. For example, to celebrate the Aztec god of war, at the end of the year Aztec priests would place a clay pot on a pole in the community temple. The pot was filled with tiny treasures and was decorated on the outside with feathers of bright colors. The pot was then broken with the treasures falling to the base of the pole. These treasures were said to be an offering to the god of war and would bring about strength and goodness to the Aztecan people.

Today the ritual of breaking pinatas has less of a religious symbolism and is more about the fun and rewards attached to the activity. Pinatas can be purchased to complement almost any theme or character party making them a great option for a party activity. Party favors, candy, and little treasures can be tucked inside pinatas to be exploded upon the crowd of party guests as the pinata is broken. The resulting scurrying of guests and laughter as the treasurers are claimed make for smiles on all those looking on. To be sure everyone gets something from the pinatas, the party host should set aside little goody bags with replica treasures. The bags, which historically have been called colacion, will ensure that at a time of fun and laughter, no guests feel left out of the celebration.

Chocolate and Easter go together as much as Easter eggs and baskets. Why not combine the different elements and learn how to make your own chocolate Easter candy? Your children can help make and decorate the chocolates. Making your own chocolate Easter candy is a great Easter activity to hep you enjoy more time with your kids.

Chocolate Easter candy can be made with any type of chocolate. Using dark or milk chocolate may be the easiest. However, if you would like to try your hand at making pastel eggs, choose white chocolate and add food coloring to create the shades you like. You can also purchase pre-colored white chocolate to make things easier. The colored chocolates are great for decorating, even if you prefer to make your candy out of dark or milk chocolate. You can also add extra ingredients such as nuts, fruit pieces, or peanut butter to make your chocolate candy even more custom made.

Getting Started

There are a few basic ingredients that you will need in order to make your chocolate Easter candy. Using higher quality chocolate will result in better tasting chocolate eggs; however, you can use any type you have. I find that it is easiest to purchase candy disks that were made specifically for melting and molds. Here is a short list of the basics you will need:

• Whatever chocolate you want to use

• Double boiler or microwave oven in which to melt the chocolate

• Heatproof bowl

• Candy molds in the shape of eggs, or a deviled egg tray

• Rubber spatula to stir the chocolate

• Pastry bag or plastic bag with a hole in the corner for piping chocolate

• Any decorations or extras you want to include

Now all you have to do is melt the chocolate, pour it into the molds, and release! There really is no end to how creative you can get depending on the molds and colors you choose. You can go as simple as solid colored eggs to three dimensional bunnies and more! Have fun with your choices!

Choosing the Right Chocolate Mold

When you first decide to start making chocolate Easter candy from chocolate molds, of course the first thing you must do is purchase a mold. While it is possible to use other types of food molds you may have around the house, for the best results, select a mold that was made specifically for chocolate.

Another mistake that people often make when they select their candy molds, is they go for the cutest molds with the most intricate details. In many cases this may be their first and last attempt at making their own chocolate Easter candy. As simple as making chocolate Easter candy from molds is, there is still an art and level of skill required. So for your first chocolate making endeavour, try to select molds that are of moderate size (no smaller than a quarter, no larger than a couple of inches) and that have few details, or at least those with large details as opposed to smaller finer details. The one from Fuzzy Bunny shown in the picture is a great starter mold for both variety, size and cuteness!

Use the manufacturers recommendations when using the chocolate molds, however, I often will rub a little vegetable oil on the molds before I use them (using very little oil - it should not pool in the bottom of the mold, only give the mold a shiny appearance.) You can get some great candy mold making tips here. Also, since you will be refrigerating your molds as they harden, I clean out my refrigerator of aromatic leftovers - that garlic smells good in the stew, but it won't be so great smelling on your https://moncleronlinecoats.top chocolate. Also, make sure you have plenty of space to place the molds while they harden. Some people recommend hardening chocolate in the freezer to reduce the occurrence of smells as well as to speed the process, but I think the best results occur when using the refrigerator.