The hot punch, the Christmas gifts filled with sweets, snacks and fruits, the sparklers and the piñatas are just some references for Mexicans who celebrate the tradition of posadas, which have a religious sense during the previous nine days to Christmas.
“In Nochistlán, the whole town goes out to ask for a posada and all the people who come are fed, especially carnitas tacos and tortilla chips”, recalls Marta Jiménez, a Zacatecan who lives in City of Terrace about the Christmas tradition.
“Here, we celebrate with tamales, buñuelos and champurrado, although sometimes we also serve ourselves jugs of tepache or tejuino (ferment of starch corn) ”, he added.
The custom that was adopted several centuries ago prepares people to celebrate the 16 to the 24 December posadas, which evoke the hardships of Saint Joseph and Mary to find r a place to rest for the virgin to give birth to the child God, on her way to Bethlehem.
. beloved wife ”, expresses one of the main songs of the litany to ask for a lodging, in charge of the pilgrims.
The song is part of the so-called Advent Novena, which,“ for Catholics represents the “Coming of the Redeemer, and it deals with the first period of the Christian liturgical year, which consists of a time of preparation for the birth of Christ”, explained to Real America News Father Domenico Di Raimondo, Missionary of the Holy Spirit and director of the House of Prayer for Priests in the Diocese of Orange.
“This is not an inn, keep going. I can’t open them, it’s not some turban ”… the hosts respond who have their door closed and don’t offer them an inn.
At the conclusion of the litanies of the song, the participants recognize the sanctity of Joseph and María who ask for a lodging and receive them from the heart in their humble abode.
“In the end, we all join in the celebration of others, whether they are Mexicans, Peruvians, Guatemala or El Salvador”, said Spanish priest Nicolás Sánchez, administrator of San Patricio Church in North Hollywood. “And we all discover that the one who gathers us in that nativity scene is Jesus who is going to be born.”
Historical and religious ‘Fusion’
Both in Mexico and Central America the posadas date back to pre-Columbian times .
In particular, in Mexico, the Aztecs celebrated during the month of Panquetzaliztli or December, the arrival of their god of the sun and of war, Huitzilopochtli (“blue hummingbird on the left”).
The party began on December 6 and ended twenty days later. The indigenous Aztecs placed flags on the fruit trees and banners in their main temple.
But, with the arrival of the Spaniards, the celebrations were called “Aguinaldo masses”, from 16 to the 24 December.
In these masses -which were held outdoors – Biblical passages were read and presentations related to the birth of the child Jesus were made, which are now known as shepherds. Children were given small “bonuses” or gifts.
“The Spanish sought to dominate new lands for the Spanish crown,” said the Father Di Raimondo.
“With them came a group of missionaries who bequeathed the faith to us; They began to realize that the indigenous peoples were genuinely religious, they had their temples and many gods: of the wind, the rain, the sun or the war, but they also liked the celebration and they taught them how Jesus was born, they gave a cultural syncretism and they held a celebration of it. ”
In El Salvador, children, youth and adults gather to“ ask for a posada ”and celebrate that someone opened the doors and welcomed them.
“In my country, children are dressed as shepherds and a girl who dress as a virgin and if there is one, they ride a donkey” , said Ronald Solórzano, an importer of Salvadoran food products to Los Angeles.
“Among friends and family they sing Christmas carols, someone plays the guitar and also the tambourine to rejoice because the virgin will have her son in a humble manger. ”
Solórzano made known that, in his country, it is customary to have a small gathering in which c afé or chocolate with sweet bread or corn atol ”.
In 2020, the “pilgrimage” of the images of Saint Joseph and the Virgin Mary mounted on a donkey was only experienced by some 25 people at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in East Los Angeles.
“The coronavirus restrictions prevented us from celebrating posadas in a traditional way,” said Margarita Torres-Gómez, a parishioner of that church.
“Even so, some families opened their houses and their hearts to receive the parents of Jesus who was going to be born in a doorway in Bethlehem,” he added.
Margarita, a native of Ensenada, Baja California Norte, said that, after reciting the rosary and traditional songs to ask for a posada, the families they get together to share tamales, champurrado and break a piñata.
“For me, Christmas is a time of celebration and union with the family; to prepare our hearts to receive our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus, and give him a lodging in our home, let him enter and live the midnight mass with him ”.
The Mexican posadas
Although Los Angeles is a melting pot of different Latin American cultures, ethnicities and religions, posadas are a typical Mexican Christmas tradition that amalgamates the cultural and religious traditions of indigenous and Spanish people during the Conquest. According to tradition and Father Domenico Di Raimondo, the meaning of its elements is:
Pilgrims: The attendants of the inn are divided into two groups. In the midst of songs and prayers, two groups are formed: the hosts who stay inside the house (and who do not want to open the door to José and María) and those outside, who represent those who implore accommodation.
Canticles and prayers: From 24 to 25 December It is remembered -particularly in the Catholic Church- the path of Mary and Joseph towards Bethlehem to participate in a census ordered for all Jews, by the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus. There, Jesus would be born, the child God that King Herod wanted to kill.
At the end of the posada request, everyone sings: “Come in, holy pilgrims, pilgrims, welcome this corner. And although the dwelling is poor, the dwelling, I give it to you from the heart ”.
Candles and sparklers. They represent the lighted path that guides the pilgrims.
Aguinaldos: The Aztecs worshiped their god Huitzilopochtli to whom they offered gifts. To this celebration, the Spanish missionaries added biblical passages in their evangelization process. At the end, the children who go to the posadas are given a bag filled with candies and snacks, fruits such as sugar cane, tangerines, oranges and peanuts.
Piñata and stick: The star-shaped piñata with seven shining spikes represents the seven deadly sins: lust, envy, gluttony, greed, pride, laziness and anger. The stick signifies the willpower to overcome sin. The Spanish missionaries taught that the gifts that fell from on high represented the gifts of God that come from heaven when evil has been defeated.
Fruit punch, chocolate or champurrado. A fruit punch is traditionally prepared from sugar cane, guava, tamarind, Jamaica and tejocotes (Indian apple whose name comes from the Nahuatl texócotl / hard) and xócotl / sour fruit).
The birth or manger: Its invention in the year 1223 belongs to Saint Francis of Assisi , known as the saint of humility and poverty. According to Catholic tradition, Jesus is born in the animal trough. The birth must contain the figures of the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, the child Jesus, the wise men Melchor, Gaspar and Baltazar, the angel, a shepherd, a cow, donkeys and the star of Bethlehem.