Parker Jax Disciplinarian's video: ParkerJaxWard 8th birthday usual candy-filled pinata 5 15 14 Parker Jax Ward

A piñata (/pɪnˈjɑːtə/ pin-yah-tə, Spanish pronunciation: [piˈɲata] ( listen)) is a container often made of papier-mâché, pottery, or cloth; it is decorated, and filled with small toys or candy, or both, and then broken as part of a ceremony or celebration. Piñatas are commonly associated with Mexico. The idea of breaking a container filled with treats came to Europe in the 14th century, where the name, from the Italian pignatta, was introduced. The Spanish brought the European tradition to Mexico, although there were similar traditions in Mesoamerica. The Aztecs had a similar tradition to honor the birthday of the god Huitzilopochtli in mid December. According to local records, the Mexican piñata tradition began in the town of Acolman, just north of Mexico City, where piñatas were introduced for catechism purposes as well as to co-opt the Huitzilopochtli ceremony. Today, the piñata is still part of Mexican culture, the cultures of other countries in Latin America, as well as the United States, but it has mostly lost its religious character. They have also become relatively popular in mostly Mexican-American communities in the United States as well. Piñatas are used for birthday parties, Christmas and Cinco de Mayo celebrations.[22][23][24][25] In 2006, a video game and television show was created based on piñatas, both called Viva Piñata. Both were about a world where piñatas compete to be chosen for children's birthday parties. The show was created to push sales of the Xbox game created by Microsoft.