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Living in a country that's miles away from their homeland, how can migrant Latinos preserve their Christmas traditions?

According to the Census Bureau, Latinos constituted 18.1 percent of the United States' total population in 2018.

This figure is projected to rise up to 28.6 percent by 2060 with 119 million Latinos residing in the country. With the growing number of Latinos in United States comes the number of individuals assimilating with the country's way of life, including how they spend their holiday celebrations.

Latinos are family-oriented people and they have a rich, festive way of celebrating the Navidad or Christmas Day -- from the food, to the activities done with their family members and the community - all directed towards strengthening their ties with their loved ones.

For instance, Latin America has "Las Posadas", a Catholic tradition commonly celebrated in Mexico and Guatemala wherein people go the streets praying, dancing, riding horses and carrying the Virgin Mary as if they were actually in Mexico. The celebration begins on December 16 and ends on the 24, which is a nine-day Novena signifying the pregnancy of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

The holiday traditions are part of Latinos' identity and to keep these traditions alive, here are some tips shared by Hispanic Mama:

FOOD

Food speaks so much about the place where it came from. No Christmas celebration is complete without food and it is one of the most effective resource to pass on Latin American heritage. There's a plethora of delicious dishes to try and enjoy during this season: from chilaquiles to churros, from tamales to arroz navideño. Introduce these foods to your kids as young as they are, teach them the recipes, or you can create a cook book that they can pass on to their future kids as well.

MUSIC

Latinos are music aficionados. Whenever this season comes, Latino homes and churches are filled with villancicos, the traditional Christmas carols that are part of Latino Christmas traditions. They bring nostalgic and magical memories of familia and home. One fun way to pass on this heritage is by checking out Mundo Lanugo YouTube channel. Here, you can find beautiful carols introduced by friendly characters that your kids will soon learn to recognize by their names. Not only a great resource to teach heritage, the videos also teach language.

BOOKS

Is there anything cozier than snuggling at the living room and reading books by the Christmas tree lights? Books are great resources to teach your kids about Latino holiday traditions like Noche Buena and Posadas. There are many books that contain beautiful stories that warms the heart while also teaching few Spanish words.

INTERACTIVE GAMES

Through interactive games that's downloadable in your Android or IOS phones, you can teach your children Spanish language while they enjoy their favorite Christmas-themed activities. This is a great way to immerse your children to some fun Navidad traditions. There are games available like decorating the gingerbread house while listening to the colors in Spanish.

While there are mobile games, you can also play actual games as a family. Latin America has a party favorite game, piñata. To play this, the participant is blindfolded, given a wooden stick, and then spun a number of times. While the participant is working their way to hit the piñata, the rest of the family are singing a traditional Christmas song.

As a Latino, it is important to keep these traditions alive. Getting a clear knowledge about who you are and where you came from empowers you. Without the knowledge about Latino holiday traditions, you might just get your Latino card revoked.