December is a month in which most families and friends come together to celebrate, eat, drink, and enjoy the closing of a year. But to most Christians who celebrate the traditional Posadas, December is not only a month of communal gathering but it is also a month of spiritual religious services, singing, and candle light walks. The actual origins of the Posadas is unclear, but scholars have, in fact, discovered that Aztecs by ancestral custom celebrated rituals in honor of Huitzilopochtli during this time of the year. The interesting thing is that by the second half of the sixteenth century the Augustine monks began to incorporate these ancestral rituals into the celebration of the coming of Jesus, the Savior. Furthermore, several scholars have acknowledged that Saint John of the Cross added the singing and the knocking on doors to the celebration of Christmas, thus developing the tradition of Las Posadas.

Those are some historical facts about Las Posadas, but in order to get the complete taste of the festive yet spiritual posada, one needs to understand that Las Posadas are symbolic, taking the word posada literaly. For instance, las Posadas comes from the root word posada which means, to ask for shelter. The tradition of the Posadas is based on the idea that people can have the opportunity to experience the hardships Joseph and Mary had to endure during their escape from Bethlehem in order for her to give birth to Jesus. It can also be considered a re-enactment of Mary and Joseph's arduous search for shelter. The Posadas, with the assistance of the mystic Saint John of the Cross, have retained this sixteenth century flavor in modern times. People today gather together with a particular group of friends and families for nine days, visiting each others homes; "los santos peregrinos" sing from the outside for shelter while innkeepers, the people inside, respond with a rejection. On the last day of the NOVENA the community asking for Posada, finally, is able to find a family that invites them in and the celebration begins.

In the Bay Area, but more specificly in the city of San Jose, most Mexican- Latino families organize a smaller version of the Posadas. For instance, instead of having the Posadas last nine days they may just have a small procession and sing for hospitability in two or three different homes, celebrating the birth of Christ on that same day.

Las Posadas have been and continue to be celebrated in most Latin American countries and it has become traditional to have plenty of food and joy, and to spiritually commit to Jesus. Therefore, it can be concluded that Las Posada are a Pre-Christmas celebration.

As Christmas approaches you can check the Mercury News or even Church bulletins to receive further information on how to participate in such a colorful and culturally rich celebration.

Dora Arredondo