In the fourteenth century, a European called Marco Polo visited China. When he returned to Europe he told everyone about a Chinese tradition. The Chinese often made animals out of coloured paper and put seeds inside They hit the animals with a stick until they broke. Breaking the animals was thought to bring good luck. The tradition soon became popular in Italy and Spain. When the Spanish went to Mexico in the sixteenth century, they took the tradition with them. It quickly became very popular there, too.