OVERVIEW: Different communities and cultures have created variations in the way that they celebrate Christmas. In San Luis Potosi, Mexico the streets are filled with lights, music and people from all social classes through traditional Posadas. More than a reenactment of the Holy Family’s journey, Posadas are an event that brings families and communities together.
Background to Posadas
Posadas originated in Spain, but have since then changed and become a Latin tradition and have been celebrated in Mexico for over 500 years. The event celebrates Mary and Joseph journey to Bethlehem (Heffron). Posada literally means a hotel or an Inn, which gives the event more depth considering that during the Holy Family’s journey they were searching for a safe place to stay for the night. Posadas are also the beginning of the Christmas celebration that ends a week before Ash Wednesday. Posadas are the beginning and are celebrated December 16ththrough December 24th. These nine days are meant to symbolize the nine months of the Virgin Mary’s pregnancy.
From December 16, a family volunteers to host the Holy Family, which are typically children who have volunteered to take up the roles. Each night a different family hosts the Holy Family until Christmas eve then the Posadas are over and a new celebration begins. Christmas Eve is still a part of the Posada tradition and during this day more than any of the others the streets of Mexican communities are filled with every family that participated as they prepare for the birth of Christ. It is also important to note that in Mexican Christmas Papa Noel is not as important to children awaiting gifts as Los Tres Reyes Magos (The Three Wise Men) who are the ones that come bearing presents. After this La Costada can begin, which consists of putting baby Jesus to sleep and the whole celebration ends with La Levantada, which awakes baby Jesus and defines the true ending of a Mexican Christmas.
Although Posadas have deep roots in religion and faith they also instill a strong sense of communities into young children. Posadas are designed towards teaching children the story of the Nativity and focus on engaging them in an eventful tradition that starts with prayers, but ends with dancing and the breaking of piñatas.
Roles in Posadas
The most important roles are those given to who will be performing in the Posadas. There are several roles to be filled, the Role of Mary and Joseph being the most important. Usually, the role of Mary and Joseph is acted by the same two people throughout all nine days, however, since the roles are usually given to children the roles can be played by more than one, depending on the child (Huffen). The youngest child in the community is given the role of Jesus, but is not seen until the ninth day. Many animals are also included as a part of the celebration. In San Luis Potosi, whoever plays Joseph will have a donkey on a leash which Mary will occasionally ride on (Brandes). The costumes of Mary and Joseph are the ones with the most detail and in some cases, these are the only roles that have costumes besides baby Jesus. Since the celebration is a performance many people who will be following Mary and Joseph also dress up, but Joseph and Mary will be distinct as their roles. The next important roles come from the
families who volunteer to give the Holy Family shelter. Each night a different family will host the Posada. The family that accepts to host the Posada is really just accepting a role and offering a space, since on this day everybody who had been a part of the celebration offers something whether that be music, food or fun activities for the children.
The three wise men are often also seen in posadas and typically consist of three people simply following the Holy Family around through their difficult journey. Also with each family, a person has to be chosen to say the prayer and another group is given the responsibility of the music.
Journey through a Posada
Posadas take weeks to plan and require and entire pueblo to be ready and willing to participate in order to be successful. Starting at around 6pm Mary and Joseph are instructed to walk to the house furthest from the house of the family who will hosting that night. They go around the neighborhood and knock on each participating house and ask whether they can be offered shelter for the night. Each family is instructed to deny the “actors.” The performers are supposed to show their loss of hope with each family that rejects them. While this is happening, the other families begin to follow the performers on their journey. Finally, they reach the host’s house and are given shelter for that night and this part of the performance is done for the first night. However, they are not fully given shelter until the last night when Jesus is born.
Now the posadas are about praying and acknowledging the presence of Mary and Joseph and the soon to be born Jesus Christ. When adults act as Mary and Joseph, Mary is also ghttps://youtu.be/bHUXsyNSQ84?t=1miven the main singing role, however most of the time these are separate. Those who will be singing sit at the front, near Joseph and Mary and the person who reads from the rosary sits next to them. Everybody faces the nativity scene recreated by that family. This part of the posada typically lasts around an hour and after this food is set up and everybody begins the actual party portion of a Posada.
Tamales, posole, atole, arroz and many other foods are available at Posadas. For eight days, the majority of the food comes from whomever is hosting the Posada for that night. Then there is dancing and many piñatas usually in the shape of a star, to symbolize the star that the Three Wise Men followed on their journey. After all families begin to leave the host’s house and this is all done again the next day in another family house. On the ninth day, the celebration is taken to the streets and the entire neighborhood is filled with lights, music and people. On this day Jesus is finally seen and is played by the youngest in the community. His arrival marks the end of Las Posadas, but start of the community’s new beginnings.
San Luis Potosi, Mexico
I have had the pleasure of being able to enjoy posadas for twenty years (my entire life) because of my background. Also, because of my background, I have been able to experience Posadas in Mexico and in the USA. San Luis Potosi is the city where my mother grew up and where I first experienced Posadas. While doing research and learning about other people’s experiences with Posadas in this region I was glad to learn about the similarities and differences in our experiences.
In my experience Posadas are small events, that more than a performance are a tie between my family and mine’s connection to Mexico and its traditions. Although they are small and we can’t go door to door or even have the costumes there is still so much of the celebration that remains and has been enough for me to enjoy it. There is still enough of it that allows me to appreciate Christmas as something bigger than gifts and Santa Claus. My experience of Posadas in San Luis Potosi has only further expanded my appreciation for Posadas because they are amazing, in terms of how easily it is for an entire community to come together and create such a memorable event every single year.
Works Cited
Heffron, Christopher. “Las Posadas: A Mexican Christmas Tradition” Francision Media. Web. https://www.franciscanmedia.org/las-posadas-a-mexican-christmas-tradition/
Brandes, Stanley. “The Posadas Structure and Sentiment in a Mexican Christmas Festival.” The Journal of American Folklore, vol. 96, no. 381, 1983, pp. 259–280. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/540945.
Cabrera, Daisy. “Las Posadas: A Tradition of Bringing Community Together.” Amtrak. 20 Jan 2017. Web.http://blog.amtrak.com/2014/12/las-posadas-a-tradition-of-bringing-community-together/
Funcion Excelsior. “Posadas Una Tradición Mexicana / Titulares De La Mañana Con Vianney Esquinca.” YouTube, 23 Dec. 2013, youtu.be/zhj_URGzq4E?t=1m46s.
Canal Mormon. “Las Posadas Mexicanas.” YouTube, 5 Dec. 2016, youtu.be/bHUXsyNSQ84?t=1m.
Fresbergcartoon. “What is Las Posadas? Christmas Around the World: Las Posadas En Mexico Cartoon.” YouTube. YouTube, 15 Dec. 2016. Web.https://youtu.be/Ne8fUWyT6SQ
Images
Anza Trail NPS. December 16 2014. Flickr, https://flic.kr/p/puqEwc. Accessed 20 April 2018.
Anza Trail NPS. December 16 2014. Flickr, https://flic.kr/p/ioeCmM. Accessed 20 April 2018.
Anza Trail NPS. December 16 2014. Flickr, https://flic.kr/p/q9CFXJ. Accessed 20 April 2018.
