Christmas for many Mexicans, is a religious holiday or should I say a tradition in many homes and rural areas. Its the celebratio of Nativity, which means the birth of Our Lord,Jesus.To be prapare for the special day of baby Jesus birth we have the "Posadas" These celebrations are a "Novena" or nine days before the 24 of December, which is the "Noche Buena" ( Holy Nigh).
These Posadas are done in order to revive those times that St. Joseph and St. Mary went through looking for shelter so that Jesus could be born,in other words to be abel to accoplish with what was written in the Bible.In Spanish we called them "Los
Peregrinos, San José y la Virgen María". The way each posada is done is by having each family in the neighborhood, or other neighborhoods choose a night for the Posada to be held at their home, starting on the 16th of December and finishing on the 24th on Noche Buena. Each and every home will have a "Nacimiento"(Nativity Scene). The family of the home will be the innkeepers and the other people invited will be the Peregrinos asking for shelter through singing. Everyone outside will carry a candle and usually a Female will carry St. Mary and a Male will carry St.Joseph, which are two small statues of St. Joseph and Virgen Mary. The Peregrinos will ask for shelter in 3 different places, but only the th
ird place will allow them in. That will be the house that is supposed to have the Posada for that evening. Once the innkeepers let them in, the group of guests comes into the home and sit or kneel around the Nativity scene to pray the Rosary. The Rosary is a traditional Catholic prayer, which consists of the following prayers: 50 Hail Maries, 5 Our Fathers , 5 Glories and the Litany, which is a series of Praises for the Virgin Mary, plus singing, like "Noche De Paz"(Holy Night).After all that is finish then it comes the party for everyone especially the children. There is Piñatas, filled with many goodies, while children and adults are breaking the Piñata with a stick while he/she will be blindfolded their is also signing.As for food there will be all sorts of food
from tamales,Ponche con Piquete, (Punch with wine), Champurado, Pozole, bread, mole,rice, beans and all sorts of food.
On Noche Buena, December 24, everybody goes to Misa de Noche Buena (mass)which is at midnight. After the Mass, everyone goes to their homes to have dinner with their family and any friend who does not have a family is always welcome to be part of a family celebration, and most important of all to place the Baby Jesus in the Nativity scene. After thats done then you can exchange your christmas presents and open your presents and enjoy the special day.
These Posadas are done in order to revive those times that St. Joseph and St. Mary went through looking for shelter so that Jesus could be born,in other words to be abel to accoplish with what was written in the Bible.In Spanish we called them "Los
Peregrinos, San José y la Virgen María". The way each posada is done is by having each family in the neighborhood, or other neighborhoods choose a night for the Posada to be held at their home, starting on the 16th of December and finishing on the 24th on Noche Buena. Each and every home will have a "Nacimiento"(Nativity Scene). The family of the home will be the innkeepers and the other people invited will be the Peregrinos asking for shelter through singing. Everyone outside will carry a candle and usually a Female will carry St. Mary and a Male will carry St.Joseph, which are two small statues of St. Joseph and Virgen Mary. The Peregrinos will ask for shelter in 3 different places, but only the th
ird place will allow them in. That will be the house that is supposed to have the Posada for that evening. Once the innkeepers let them in, the group of guests comes into the home and sit or kneel around the Nativity scene to pray the Rosary. The Rosary is a traditional Catholic prayer, which consists of the following prayers: 50 Hail Maries, 5 Our Fathers , 5 Glories and the Litany, which is a series of Praises for the Virgin Mary, plus singing, like "Noche De Paz"(Holy Night).After all that is finish then it comes the party for everyone especially the children. There is Piñatas, filled with many goodies, while children and adults are breaking the Piñata with a stick while he/she will be blindfolded their is also signing.As for food there will be all sorts of food
from tamales,Ponche con Piquete, (Punch with wine), Champurado, Pozole, bread, mole,rice, beans and all sorts of food.On Noche Buena, December 24, everybody goes to Misa de Noche Buena (mass)which is at midnight. After the Mass, everyone goes to their homes to have dinner with their family and any friend who does not have a family is always welcome to be part of a family celebration, and most important of all to place the Baby Jesus in the Nativity scene. After thats done then you can exchange your christmas presents and open your presents and enjoy the special day.
i used to loved posadas. they were so much fun.the only thing is that i don't remenber going to houses and asking for posada. what we used to do was getting together in a house and just do the "party" We only did the piñatas, sing, the food of course which is the #1 thing about Mexican people and going to mass at midnight
ReplyDeleteI love the posadas in Mexico. I remember my grand parents used to do posadas in Mexico. they gave us a bag of candies, oranges, peanuts, sugar cane, and at the 24th, we were eating Pozole tamales and brekining pinatas. Here I go with my sister and she makes posadas with other people. Let's not forget our tradictions where we come from.
ReplyDelete