Why Christmas posadas continue to enrich the RGV’s holidays

3 days ago 44

HARLINGEN — The posada is a celebration of a journey long ago, when a humble and unassuming couple moved from place to place in search of lodging for the night.

No one accepted them, so the holy family spent the night in a manger with farm animals, where the savior of humanity would be born.

More than 2,000 years later, Catholics in the Rio Grande Valley celebrate this posada with songs and celebrations and a reenactment of that now hallowed journey. These celebrations, which are both religious and cultural, take place in the season of Advent leading up to Christmas Day.

Dressed in the humble clothing of Mary and Joseph, two individuals and some fellow worshippers move from house to house looking for a place to stay, until arriving at another home which accepts them, or at the church.

While Catholics everywhere remember and celebrate the holy family and the birth of Christ, Catholics in Hispanic communities give this remembrance a special accent with the posadas.

“Mexican Catholicism takes Christmas and ‘stretches’ it,” said R.C. Salinas, a Rio Grande City historian and retired deacon of the Catholic Church.

Salinas was still feeling the joy of a posada at the city’s Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto. At the posada, matachines in their headdresses of mauve and gold danced before the image of the Blessed Mother in the Grotto, lit with glowing purple light. Worshippers with solemn faces looked on, some holding candles, and two dressed as Mary and Joseph.

The Blessed Sacrament Catholic School of San Antonio says on its website that: “The matachines are the soldiers of the Virgin Mary and of the Lord; their way of praying is by dancing to Christ and the Blessed Mother.”

“The posada season is upon us,” Salinas said, “and last night at our well-known Grotto I saw a posada there that exceeded expectations. Our pastor, Father Eduardo Ortega, and parish staff had a posada that was larger than any seen on Britton Boulevard.”

Ortega is the priest at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Rio Grande City.

Salinas said the posadas were brought to Mexico by early Franciscan missionaries.

“They gave us Las Posadas,” Salinas said. “What a gift not just as a faith tradition but as a vehicle of community as well as a religious ceremony. Communities of our size can really benefit from this.”

Posadas are indeed an important part of community life, said Sister Norma Pimental, executive director for Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley.

“We have a strong tradition of posadas, coming together as a community, celebrating the coming of Jesus as we prepare for Christmas,” Pimental said. “This is a way of reigniting ourselves in the joy of what it means to be in this time of Christmas to make those traditions, so we don’t let the religious customs in our culture die off.”

Valley culture puts great emphasis on close family connections and the importance of gathering together as a family. The celebration of Las Posadas during Advent leading up to Christmas Day therefore is an important part of the gathering together.

“Las Posadas is a form of Advent where we have everyone, our children and our families and everybody, come together and share a meal,” she said. “We share special candies to kids, and we sing and we eat together and enjoy our customs of tamales. That’s how we make ourselves aware of the coming of Jesus.”

Las Posadas in Advent is also about walking together in rejoicing.

“It is a time of preparation and a time of awareness and it’s a time of who we are as people of God,” she said. “We are celebrating those things but we’re also celebrating together. This is how I believe that people celebrate Advent here, especially here in the Valley and in our culture. That’s why the Advent is really important.”

During this time of Advent, posadas are taking place everyday at different homes.

“It takes place in different communities, whether it’s in a parish community or a colonia community, or families where they share,” Pimental said. “One family may be with our parents, maybe with our brothers’ houses, and go from one house to the other. We say the posada which is a back and forth of Mary and Joseph asking for a place to stay. We let them in at the end and we share the readings.”

The posadas are one part of a much broader tapestry of observances and celebrations of Mexican Catholicism. There is the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12, Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, then Christmas Day and the 12 days leading up to the Epiphany on Jan. 6 celebrating the three wise men who came to see the baby Jesus.

Then, of course, there’s Tejano artist and Valley native Ramon Ayala’s annual Christmas posadas in Hidalgo, which also acts as a toy drive where thousands are gifted to local children.

1 of 14

A popular tradition in Mexican Catholicism is the baking and consumption of the “Rosca de Reyes,” a sweet bread with a figure of the baby Jesus inside. Whoever finds the image hosts a meal at his or her home.

Catholics throughout the Valley and Mexico enjoyed posadas every night, one of those took place last Wednesday at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Harlingen, attended by Aracely Navarro.

“I especially love attending the posadas and midnight Mass at St. Anthony’s, which holds a special place in my heart,” she said before the posada.

“This Wednesday, our family is looking forward to attending the posada with our son, who is actively involved in CCD,” she said. “One of my favorite holiday traditions is midnight Mass, and the beautiful songs performed by the choir are especially dear to my heart.”

The post Why Christmas posadas continue to enrich the RGV’s holidays appeared first on MyRGV.com.

Read Entire Article