Tradiciones (Traditions)
A posada is a holiday tradition practiced from December 16th through December 24th meant to replicate the journey that Mary and Joseph embarked on leading up to the birth of their baby. They faithfully followed the advice of an angel who led them to Bethlehem to give birth to the son of God who they would later name Jesus. Upon arrival to Bethlehem they knocked on doors to try to find a warm and safe place for Mary to sleep and possibly give birth. They where rejected in every home until they found a stable which Joseph deemed suitable for the task! They found shelter beside the sheep and later Mary gave birth to her son.
Today a posada very exciting celebration, there are traditional winter foods such as tamales, artisan sugar breads, Rompope, ponche, and warm stews like pozole or menudo. But the celebration only kicks off after the procession of the journey where there is a child dressed as an angel who is followed by a group of adults as well as other children dressed in gold and white carrying lit candles singing Christmas carols and other religious hymns. The purpose of this is to represent the journey of Mary, Joseph and their donkey traveling on foot. The joyful crowd makes pre planned stops at selected homes asking to be let in to rest and being turned away just like Joseph and Mary did back in the day. At the end of this procession there is no shortage of celebration community. Kids break open piñatas filled with toys and treats, adults indulge in holiday foods and over all it is a musical and culturally rich tradition.
Several other countries have different versions of the Posada celebrated in Mexico. For example, Puerto Rico begins their celebrations on December the 10th and lasts until January 6th which for them is the day of the Three Wise Kings. They indulge in coquito which is a type of egg nog and they attend various impromptu parties at different locations throughout the weeks. In Nicaragua they call their posadas “La Griteria” (The shoutings) and they begin their celebrations as early as December 7th. Cuba, Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador also celebrate the Novena de Aguinaldos from December 16th through 24th . No matter the soil, Christmas in Latin American countries have soul and rich ancient culture that comes alive every season.