Christmas Posadas in Mexico

Las Posadas is a novenario (nine days of religious observance) beginning 16 December and ending 24 December. The Catholic tradition recounts Mary and Joseph’s pilgrimage from Nazareth to Bethlehem, as they were looking for a lodging to give birth to Jesus.

The holiday season is one of the most anticipated of the year. The city boasts a special atmosphere with Christmas decorations and traditional festivities begin to take place, where the most important thing is gathering with family and friends. One of such celebrations is the posadas, celebrated all over Mexico and also in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama.

Although posadas are officially celebrated December 16 – 24, many begin organizing them earlier in December and sometimes into January, given the sometimes hectic pace of the season in general—the latter are sometimes referred to as “post-posadas.”

Nobody wants to feel out of place during an important celebration, particularly our foreign visitors that choose to spend the Winter holiday season in Puerto Vallarta or Riviera Nayarit. To that effect, we are happy to share a brief overview of this time-honored tradition, so you can join your local friends in celebration.

Each one of the nine days preceding Christmas Day has a unique significance: happiness, charity, confidence, detachment, strength, generosity, humility, justice and purity. At first, posadas were organized at church atriums and, through time, were extended to the streets, where people gathered joyfully to be part of the processions. People sang and dance, increasingly cheering as the event began. In this fashion, the religious aspect of the celebration fused with the mundane, resulting in a unique mixture of fun and devotion that, in time, transformed the Mexican posadas into one of the most beautiful and unique celebrations in the world.

Source: Vallarta Lifestyles

Last Updated on 16/12/2018 by Puerto Vallarta Net