Costa Rica News – Tamales are a Costa Rican tradition during the Christmas holidays. But can you overdose on tamales? It is possible that some people in Costa Rica are trying to do just that.
How many tamales have you eaten today? The average tico consumes three tamales per day throughout the month of December. Ticos combined eat 196 pairs of them each Christmas season.
The School of Statistics from the University of Costa Rica brought us those results in their 2014 survey. They took the numbers from a sample of 852 people over the age of 18 from all over the national territory.
They found that 91% of the Costa Rican population follows this Christmas and New Year’s tradition. 62% of households still make their own while other Ticos buy 19 million pairs from companies or friends. The tradition of making them at home is kept up more in rural areas.
The tradition is actually pre-hispanic, as the Mesoamerican Indians made them as an offering to the God of the sun.
The Spaniards added rice, beans and peas to the tomatoes, peppers and seeds the indians used.
