Las Posadas is a nine-day celebration that goes from December 16th to the 24th each year. The celebration has been a tradition in Mexico for over 400 years, and is now becoming popular in the United States.
The name “Las Posadas” means “The Inn or Shelter”. The traditional Mexican observance is to reenact Mary and Joseph’s search for shelter as they traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem during the days before Christ was born.
Las Posadas in celebrated in different ways, but they all have the same common theme of reenacting the nativity. In Mexico, entire villages will participate. In the U.S., it is usually done in neighborhoods or on certain streets.
The celebration begins with two people dressed up as Mary and Joseph. Certain homes are designated to be an inn. A child, dressed up as an angel and carrying a lit candle, will lead the procession. At each home, the resident responds by singing a song, and Mary and Joseph are allowed to enter. Once the innkeepers let them in, the group of guests will kneel around the Nativity to pray. The people asking for lodging will go to a different house each night for eight days.
On the ninth day, everyone will gather at a specific home, where Mary and Joseph’s search for lodging is reenacted at the door of each room. Then, at midnight, the hostess of the house will lead the actors to a table that has been prepared. Images of Mary and Joseph are placed on this table, and the feasting begins.
This is a beautiful celebration and if you’d like to experience it for yourself, you may want to go to Olivera Street, in Los Angeles. The tradition of Las Posadas has been celebrated there since 1930. Events start each day at 6:30 pm. They have Piñatas and candy for the kids, music, singing, plays, and free sweet bread and champurrado for everyone who attends.
