Christmas in Oaxaca is not one night but a season that runs from December 8 to December 24. Its peak is the Night of the Radishes on December 23, when farmers and artisans fill the city's Zócalo with figures carved from giant radishes.
In between come pilgrimages, the feast of the city's patron saint, nine nights of posadas and the lantern-lit calendas of Christmas Eve. Almost every one of them ends at the table: buñuelos in syrup, tamales, ponche and hot chocolate.
The best way to understand it is to cook it. That is why we teach a limited holiday edition of our Oaxaca cooking class every December.
Oaxaca's December calendar
December 8 – Virgin of Juquila. Pilgrims walk for days to Santa Catarina Juquila; the unofficial start of the season.
December 12 – Virgin of Guadalupe. Children dressed as Juan Diego fill the church by El Llano Park.
December 16–24 – Posadas. Nightly processions, plus family parties with ponche and snacks.
December 18 – Virgin of Solitude (La Soledad). Feast of Oaxaca's patron saint: procession, midnight Mass and mañanitas.
December 23 – Night of the Radishes. Carving contest in the Zócalo from 5 p.m.
December 24 – Calendas of the Christ Child. Lantern processions circle the Zócalo and reach the Cathedral around 10 p.m., before midnight Mass.
Tip: book a morning cooking class on December 23 and you will be back in the city in time for the radishes.
The Night of the Radishes: a market trick turned tradition
The Noche de Rábanos began in Oaxaca's old Christmas Eve market, where growers sold vegetables, herbs, flowers and dried fish for the vigil supper. To catch shoppers' eyes, vendors carved their radishes into little figures.
In 1897 the city's municipal president, Francisco Vasconcelos, turned the habit into an official contest to promote local horticulture. It has been held every December 23 since.
What you will see. Three kinds of figures compete: carved radishes, flor inmortal (dried everlasting flowers, a craft from San Antonino Ocotlán) and totomoxtle, dried corn husk shown in its natural color only. Scenes range from nativity sets to market days, saints and village festivals.
Why the radishes are so big. The contest radishes are grown on city-supervised plots, sown in stages from October and left in the ground long past a normal harvest. They can reach about 50 cm and 3 kg, and they are not meant to be eaten. Growers once used a local criollo radish for carving; that variety has been lost.
Grown in our valley. In 2019 Mexico News Daily reported that the contest radishes came from a single field in Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán, the farming town on the southern edge of Oaxaca City where Quinta Brava's farm and kitchen stand. Other reports place the city plots by El Tequio park or near the airport, so the exact field can change from year to year. The soil, the water and the farming tradition are the same ones we cook with every day.
Go early. The exhibition opens at 5 p.m. and draws big crowds, so arrive early.
La Soledad, posadas and calendas
The Virgin of Solitude (December 18). Legend dates her arrival to 1617: a mule traveling from Guatemala to Veracruz lay down outside the hermitage of San Sebastián and would not rise. Inside its load was the image now venerated as Oaxaca's patron saint. Her basilica was built between 1682 and 1689, and its folding-screen facade was finished in 1718.
Posadas (December 16–24). Nine nights reenact Mary and Joseph's search for shelter. In Oaxaca the word also means the season's gatherings among family and friends, always with ponche.
Calendas (December 24). On Christmas Eve each downtown church parades its Christ Child, carried by godmothers under paper lanterns. The processions circle the Zócalo four times, reach the Cathedral around 10 p.m., and the Child is laid in the manger before midnight Mass.
The Oaxacan Christmas table
Buñuelos. Thin fritters bathed in piloncillo syrup, sold in the plazas on a clay plate. By tradition the plate is smashed once you finish; many locals say you make a wish as it breaks.
Tamales. Oaxaca wraps its tamales two ways: in banana leaf, often with mole, and in dried corn husk. Families make them by the dozen for posadas and Christmas Eve.
Ponche and chocolate. Hot fruit punch with guava, tejocote and cinnamon for the posadas; Oaxacan chocolate whisked with water or milk for the cold December nights.
The old vigil supper. Oaxacan families traditionally broke the Christmas Eve fast with salads of garden vegetables from the Atoyac River valley, salt cod brought from overseas, smoked fish, fruit pastes and sorbets.
Cook Christmas in Oaxaca with Quinta Brava
From December 16 to 24, the heart of Oaxaca's Christmas season, we add an afternoon holiday edition to our regular morning class: a special small group of up to 8 guests, starting at 4 p.m. on a working farm. You cook the season instead of watching it.
On the menu
Buñuelos with piloncillo syrup, finished with the clay-plate tradition
Oaxacan tamales two ways: banana leaf with mole, and corn husk from the corn we grow
Ensalada de Nochebuena, the colorful Christmas Eve salad
Ponche or Oaxacan chocolate, whisked by hand
Only in this edition
A radish-carving workshop inspired by the Night of the Radishes, with edible radishes from our own garden, grown in the same valley as the contest radishes
A small totomoxtle figure made from our own corn husks, yours to take home
The story behind each dish, from the 1897 contest to the vigil supper
A visit to our farm animals, and a Posada at the Farm to close the day: lanterns lit at dusk, ponche around the table and the clay buñuelo plate smashed by tradition
Planning December 23? Join our regular morning class and you will be back in Oaxaca's Zócalo before the radishes go on display at 5 p.m. Prefer to skip the crowds? The afternoon holiday edition also runs that day, a quiet posada on the farm away from the Zócalo.
Spaces are limited each day. Book the Oaxaca Christmas Cooking Class
Quinta Brava · Oaxaca cooking classes
Holiday edition · December 16–24, 2026
Cook a Special Christmas in Oaxaca
Buñuelos, tamales and ponche, plus a radish-carving workshop inspired by the Night of the Radishes. Ends with a Posada at the Farm by lantern light.
- Radish carving
- Farm visit
- Special small group · Max 8 guests · Starts 4 p.m.
FAQ
When is the Night of the Radishes in Oaxaca?
Every December 23 in the Zócalo of Oaxaca City, with the exhibition opening at 5 p.m.
How old is the Night of the Radishes?
It became an official contest in 1897, growing out of the city's Christmas Eve market.
Can you eat the giant radishes?
No. Contest radishes are grown to an oversized length and are meant for carving, not eating.
Where are the Night of the Radishes radishes grown?
On city-supervised plots around Oaxaca City; in 2019 they came from a field in Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán, the farming valley where Quinta Brava's farm is located.
What is the best time to visit Oaxaca at Christmas?
December 16 to 24 covers the posadas, the Virgin of Solitude on December 18, the radishes on December 23 and the calendas on Christmas Eve.
What do Oaxacans eat at Christmas?
Buñuelos in piloncillo syrup, tamales, ponche and Oaxacan chocolate are the season's staples.
Is there a Christmas cooking class in Oaxaca?
Yes. Quinta Brava runs a holiday edition from December 16 to 24, starting at 4 p.m., with buñuelos, tamales and a radish-carving workshop.
