CLARO/Latino families celebrate season with posada parties at their homes

As we prepare to celebrate the Christmas season, each of us have our holiday traditional celebrations. In Mexico a few other Latin American countries Las Posadas ("the inns") is a traditional nine day-long ceremony celebrated at night that marks the journey of Joseph and Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem and their search for lodgings when they arrived in that city. Las Posadas is a modernized version of that journey.

In the contemporary Latin American ceremony, a host family makes arrangements with eight other families to sponsor the first of eight preliminary posada parties at their homes. The organizing family hosts the ninth and last posada.

All the members of the nine families, along with relatives and friends are divided into groups. One group begins as the first to be the pilgrims accompanied with statues of Mary and Joseph and they go to the first home of the first host. This first posada is normally held on the night of Dec. 16. Then each host family takes their turn in being the pilgrims after they are visited. Another group joins each host family and prepares for the coming of the pilgrims.

When the pilgrims arrive to the front of the host home, they sing a song asking for shelter. They carry on a conversation in verse with the host family. Through the verse, the host at first refuses to provide loging for the pilgrims and threatens to drive them away. But then gradually comes to understand that they are about to become part of a momentous event, and so invites the pilgrims into the home.

After the pilgrims enter the home, the second group waiting inside welcomes them with song. Then traditional foods, sweets and drinks are served.

Each home hosting the posada usually has a special place decorated to place the statues of Mary and Joseph made to look like Bethlehem, with the nativity scene as its centerpiece. The following day, the statues are carried by the pilgrims to the next house scheduled to host the celebration.

On Dec. 24, the final night of the festivities, the statues are placed in a setting in the home of the chief host, representing a manger, the place where the baby Jesus was born.

Here in Marshall, many families begin Las Posadas as early as Dec. 12 on the Holiday of the Virgin of Guadalupe and end as late as Christmas Eve. Families take turns at being pilgrims and hosts each night. At each host's home everyone celebrates together by singing religious songs, praying and enjoying foods made by the host family.

As families celebrate the Christmas holiday, this is a very important and joyous celebration to spend special time with friends and family and has been celebrated for many years by Latinin American families in their home countries, the United States and here in our home of Marshall.

The majority of Marshall's Latino population is not from Mexico, so if you would like to find out where someone is from you would ask:

"żDe d--nde es usted?" -- "Where are you from?"

Hasta el proximo miercoles. Ciao.

(Until next Wednesday.)

CLARO appears on Wednesday.