The Celebration of Posadas Navideñas

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Our featured blogger this week is Alex Rodrigues, from the 2-1-1 team, with her experiences of the celebration of Posadas Navideñas.

 As a Mexican American, I experienced Posadas Navideñas when I traveled to Mexico during my teenage years. My family and I had decided it was time to visit our folks that were thousands of miles away, and there wasn’t a better time than Christmas. My grandma decided to contribute and host a Posada Navideña at her house.

 The word “posada” means hostel or Christmas Inn and is a place that welcomes neighbors to come in to have a warm meal and stay warm. Each year, neighbors agree to organize and participate in the posadas for the community. Celebrations take place each of the nine nights before Christmas. Read more about the meaning behind Read more about the traditions behind Posadas Navideñas.

 I remember waking up to my mom, my grandma, and my sister making a lot of commotion. I asked them what the deal was, and my sister excitedly explained, “Grandma will host posada at her home, and she’s even having a banda over!” Banda is a Spanish term for regional music band. So that means my grandma hired a whole band to play music, while we all would join in and sing along to Mexican Christmas carols.

 There was more than I expected to a posada. We also must have the Aguinaldo with Colaccion ready, which is a “goodie bag” to give out to the children. My mom helped with that and made them by gender. This is part of the tradition for some reason, since in the markets they even sell pink and blue candied peanuts called colaccion, typical candies for the holiday season.

 Then, my grandpa showed up with two huge piñatas, one for boys and one for girls. By huge, I mean life-sized piñatas! I’m 5’2, and those things were my height. Mexican culture tends to be very extra when it comes to hosting and planning celebrations, and we love to take it to the top.

 That evening, the neighborhood crowd, as well as people from all around the community, started showing up to my grandma’s house while singing letanias (typical Mexican Christmas carol songs). We ended up having more than 100 people over. Thankfully, we had so much colaccion to give away in baskets to the children. There were also drinks like ponche navideño (Mexican Christmas punch, check out the recipe), pastries, and even some side dishes that everyone could help themselves to. My cousins provided a mini firework show to add some excitement.

 My favorite part about experiencing posadas was the feeling of gratitude and unity. It felt like such a spiritual, magical evening, as well as a great bonding experience.

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