NINE DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS

The Tradition

Las Posadas (Spanish for “the inns”) is an Advent celebration revolving around the concept of hospitality. In Mexico it is traditional to hold Posadas during the nine days before Christmas, beginning December 16 and ending December 24. The Posadas symbolize Mary and Joseph’s long, frustrating search for a place to stay where Jesus could be born.

Typically, different families in a neighborhood will take turns scheduling a night for the Posada to be held at their home, starting on the 16th of December and finishing on the 24th. Every home has a nativity scene, and the family hosting the Posada act as the innkeepers. The neighborhood children and adults are the pilgrims (“Peregrinos”), who go house to house, singing a traditional song about Mary and Joseph searching for lodging. At one house after the other, they are turned away (also in song), until the weary travelers reach the designated site for the party, where Mary and Joseph are finally recognized and allowed to enter.

How to Celebrate a Mexican Posada. Hugo Olaiz. 1/12/2010. http://www.hospitalidadnc.org/pdf/posadas.pdf