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Las
Posadas by
Maggie Van Ostrand
Las
Posadas begins on December 16th and continues each night through Christmas eve.
On evenings during the Posada season, people gather to pray before a "nacimiento"
-- a Nativity scene. |
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Not
that the commercialization of Christmas
has totally taken over Mexico,
but it seems that Santa and Rudolph might be slowly gaining over the Holy Family
and the Three Kings.
Once upon a time, there were precious few images
of Santa Claus in Mexico,
and Gene Autry's rendition of "Rudolph the Red Nosed Raindeer" was not heard blaring
over store loudspeakers, drowning out "Ave Maria," and "The Little Drummer Boy."
Mexican children would leave a shoe under their bed praying for a holiday treat
like a small toy or a candy, from the Three Kings on January 6th, Three Kings
Day.
Now, it could seem that greed might be casting its shadow over
the story of Bethlehem, except for one very important thing: Las Posadas is still
observed in Mexico. That
cannot be underestimated, nor can it be commercialized.
Legend has it
that Las Posadas came to Mexico via the Spanish missionaries, as a sure-fire,
very dramatic way to impress the birth of Christ upon the Mexican people, targeted
for conversion. No matter how it arrived, the beloved tradition of Las Posadas
is an experience so profound, so spiritually uplifting, that it's a privilege
to take part in, even to merely observe, the honored ritual.
Las
Posadas begins on December 16th and continues each night through Christmas eve.
On evenings during the Posada season, people gather to pray before a "nacimiento"
-- a Nativity scene.
They form a candlelight procession, usually led
by a priest, with guitar-strumming musicians, and children portraying Mary and
Joseph; often "Mary" is riding a burro. The procession continues down a selected
street of private casitas before which various Nativity scenes are depicted with
living, motionless people, as still as statues, barely breathing, honored to have
been chosen.
Christmas carols (villancicos) are sung by all in the procession,
and the songs ask for "posada" or shelter at the "inn." At each doorway, they
are turned away, and move on to another house, another door, another rejection.
This continues until Christmas eve, when at last "Mary and Joseph" are not turned
away, but are welcomed into the Inn.
After a rosary is said by all, the
Christ child, usually a life-size doll and occasionally a real baby, is placed
on a bed of straw in the "Inn."
After Midnight Mass, there's a fiesta
with music, hot fruit punch, sugar cane, oranges, and candy. Pinatas are expertly
smashed by happy children who scramble for the sweets which rain down upon them
on this holiest of nights, "Noche Buena."
Perhaps the Christmas
tree has replaced the traditional nativity scenes in many Mexican homes, and Santa
and Rudolph can be found in the stores today, but most Mexicans still hear "Campana
Sobre Campana," -- Bells over Bethlehem -- and, for another year, Mexico
will know the true spirit of Christmas.
Copyright Maggie Van Ostrand
"A
Balloon In Cactus"
December 1, 2004 column
Related Topics: Christmas
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