What exactly are cascarones?
A cascarón (plural cascarones, without accent mark; from Spanish cascarón, “eggshell”, the augmentative form of cáscara, “shell”) is a hollowed-out chicken egg filled with confetti or small toys. Like many popular traditions in Mexico, cascarones are increasingly popular in the southwestern United States.
What do people use cascarones for?
Cascarones, pronounced kas-ka-ron-ez, are a Mexican tradition used for Easter, Cinco de Mayo and other celebrations. It is an egg shell filled with confetti used to crack over someone’s head and shower them with the confetti inside.
What were cascarones originally filled with?
Cascarones are hollowed-out eggshells, traditionally filled with confetti or toys after removal of the raw egg. They are decorated in bright colors like Easter eggs and used as presents for adults and children. Another name for them is Mexican confetti eggs. Originally, the filling for a cascarone was perfumed powders.
Are cascarones bad for the environment?
The eggs are often filled with Mylar—a polyester film—that poses an environmental hazard for marine life, including whales, turtles, dolphins, seals, fish, and water-fowl, who think it’s food. It is also just plain litter, which has to be cleaned up with street sweeping, and by hand.
What does it mean when a Cascaron is broken over someone’s head?
It’s an old Mexican-American tradition. You take some confetti eggs…and crack them on someone’s head! It’s meant to bring good luck to the person you crack it on. They’re called cascarones, which means “shell hits.”
What happens if a Cascaron is broken over your head?
This is a very popular tradition in Mexico. It is said that once an eggshell is broken on your head releasing the confetti it is considered to be good luck. The tradition also says that you gift the egg to someone and, then you crush it over their heads.
What are we celebrating when we use cascarones on Easter Sunday?
Tradition has it though, that cascarones are supposed to bring good luck to the person the egg hits. The best part of the cascarones is its religious meaning “because they are made from eggs, they symbolize rebirth and Jesus’ resurrection.”
What are the 5 countries that have the largest Spanish speaking population?
Mexico is the country with the largest number of native Spanish speakers in the world….Countries with the largest number of native Spanish speakers worldwide in 2020 (in millions)
| Characteristic | Number of speakers in millions |
|---|---|
| Argentina | 44.51 |
| Spain | 43.26 |
| United States | 41.46 |
| Venezuela | 31.73 |
What actions involving the cascarones bring good luck?
It is believed that cracking cascarones over the head brings good luck. Historically speaking, the roots of cracking egg shells can be traced back to Asia, then to Marco Polo who brought the tradition to Europe.
What country throws Easter eggs at each other?
In many parts of Germany a popular Easter pastime is egg throwing.
Will Spanish overtake English in America?
There is no real possibility that Spanish will replace English in the USA. This could only happen in practice anyway, as the United States has no official language. English is cultural; the language of science and math; and the most spoken language in the world, making replacement very unlikely.