This is Christmas in Mexico: posadas, meals and celebrations 1:31
(CNN Spanish) -
- The Christmas festivities in Mexico begin days before with the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, on December 12, and a few days later with the posadas, a religious tradition that is also the perfect excuse to meet with family and friends, sing, eat and drink.
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From December 16 to 24, Mexican families organize parties in their homes in which they recreate the pilgrimage of María and José to Bethlehem asking for posada.
Tamales, atole, fritters and sweets from the piñatas that are broken are eaten.
Fruit punch is drunk and, in some places, they also perform pastorelas, plays of Catholic fables with indigenous characters who overcome obstacles to see the birth of Jesus.
Although today everything is focused on the birth of Jesus, the origin of these traditions dates from the colonial era and the religious syncretism that took place when the Spanish arrived in Mexico, where the Aztecs celebrated the arrival of another god: Huitzilopochtli.
What is the origin of the inns?
This is Christmas in Mexico: posadas, meals and celebrations 1:31
During the winter solstice, the Aztecs celebrated the arrival of Huitzilopochtli, god of war and the Sun. The ritual —which occurred on Panquetzaliztli, the fifteenth month of the year of the Aztec calendar— consisted of fasting and dancing night after night in front of the temple of the god, as recorded by the Encyclopedia Britannica.
Sacrifices were also offered, flags were placed on the fruit trees and a race was held in which the runner carried a figure made of amaranth in the shape of Huitzilopochtli.
When the Spanish arrived in Mexico with their evangelization plans, they realized that the Aztec winter solstice celebrations coincided with Christmas dates.
And they transformed these rituals into the so-called "aguinaldo masses."
Both traditions merged and gave rise to the inns.
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The first posadas were held in the town of San Agustín Acolmán, northwest of Mexico City, explains Father José de Jesús Aguilar, director of Sacred Art for the Primate Archdiocese of Mexico, in a video.
The Augustinian missionaries were in charge of beginning to celebrate the bonus masses for nine days, in which the indigenous people were told about the pilgrimage that Joseph and Mary made to Bethlehem in search of a safe refuge where Mary could give birth to Jesus.
Once the masses were over, they went out in procession singing litanies to the convents where they asked for lodging and, upon entering, they received their Christmas bonus that included fruits and sweets.
What is it like to "ask for a posada" nowadays?
Although in every corner of Mexico the way to celebrate the posadas varies depending on the city or town you are in, the tradition has certain peculiarities that illustrate the essence of its origins.
During the recreation of the pilgrimage of María and José, the families go to other houses to ask for posada singing a litany to which the owners of the houses respond and receive them with food and drink.
Those who ask for a posada carry lighted candles during the tour.
Fritters, tamales, atole and the traditional fruit punch "with piquete" are offered.
The tradition also includes breaking the 7-cornered piñata (in reference to the deadly sins) filled with sweets and fruit.
With information from Rocío Muñoz-Ledo
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