Throughout Mexico, during the Christmas holidays, you will see mention of Las Posadas, the nine-day-long celebration beginning on December 16 and ending on December 24. The celebrations are a novenario (from Latin: Novem, meaning Nine) as an institutional act of religious devotion in the Roman Catholic Church, often consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days in the belief of obtaining special intercessory graces. They also represent the nine months that Mary carried Jesus in her womb. Las Posadas is a reenactment of Mary and Joseph’s cold and challenging journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem in search of shelter. The Spanish word “posadas” means “lodgings” or “accommodations.” It is plural due to being celebrated on multiple days.
The celebration is a contemporary Roman Catholic adaptation of a tradition previously performed by the clergy of the church. It is attributed to Saint John of the Cross. He led a community procession through the halls of the Carmelite Convent of Avila, Spain, carrying the images of Joseph and Mary. He would seek hospitality for the images as he knocked on the doors of the residents’ rooms.
The annual enactment of the journey of Joseph and Mary was adapted in Mexico to include ordinary people outside of the clergy toward the end of the 16th century by the Augustinian and Franciscan priests from Spain to evangelize and teach Christianity to the people of Mexico. It may have been started in Mexico in 1538 by Friar San Ignacio de Loyola or Friar Pedro de Gant in Mexico.
The missionaries’ inclusion of the ordinary people helped them gain converts, as they experienced the hope and promise of receiving acceptance from the Son of God. The missionaries combined Spanish Catholicism with the December Aztec celebration of the birth of Huitzilopochtli.
The nine days of the posadas at the end of Advent parallel the season of Lent, as they offer a period of reflection, prayer, and singing to prepare one’s heart to receive the Christ child. For many, the presentation of Las Posadas offsets the growing secularization of Christmas and the loss of the original message.
While the Christmas holidays unofficially begin in Mexico on the saint’s day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, decorations start appearing immediately after the Day of the Dead on November 2.
Today, each evening at dusk, from December 16 to December 24, parties are held in a neighborhood home. Costumed guests will gather outside the host home. A child dressed as an angel will lead the procession, followed by others dressed as Mary and Joseph or by guests carrying their images. The adults follow, carrying lighted candles. The expectant Mary may ride a burro during the pilgrimage in some communities. Children may carry poinsettias to present to the hosts at the end of the evening. There may be musicians following the procession who play and sing Pedir Posada.
The pilgrims will proceed to the neighboring homes, where, in a pre-arranged tradition, they will sing a song asking for shelter. However, the residents, who also sing a song, turn them away. The pilgrims will then invite the neighbors to join in with them, and the neighbors oblige. Thus, the procession continues to grow as it moves along through the neighborhood.
Once the procession has gathered the neighbors, they return to the home of the hosts, who, upon recognizing Joseph and Mary, invite them in, along with all of the assembled pilgrims. The guests will kneel around a Nativity scene to pray, which is followed by the pilgrims singing Christmas carols (villancicos), and children will break open a seven-pointed piñata. Next, the hosts will offer the pilgrims hot punch (ponche), fried rosette cookies (buñuelos), tamales, and other festive foods.
The last posada, held on December 24, gathers residents who will parade to the church for a special midnight mass.
On January 6, the 12th day of Christmas, the Night of the Kings (Epiphany) is celebrated. People have the opportunity to be generous to one another and give, as the Wise Men did. Initially, the celebration was to avoid gift giving on Christmas Day, which distracted from the ultimate gift of God’s generosity.
