By: Luz Solis
From December 16 to 24, the posadas are organized, which are held nine days before Christmas. In some Latin American countries like Mexico, it is a celebration to enjoy a hot punch, sweets and break the piñata; but do you know what the meaning of a Christmas posada is?
The posadas are characterized by having nine festivals, which allude to the pilgrimage that Mary and Joseph made before the birth of Jesus, the nine days it took them to reach Bethlehem.
During their trip, they looked for a place to stay and spend the night, hence the term ask for a posada, which later gave the celebration its name. According to the anthropologist Fernando Hijar, this tradition originated with the arrival of the Spanish in Mexico, where the religious in charge of evangelizing the people supplanted the cult of the god of war Huitzilopochtli, with the European practice of preparation for Christmas. With the passage of time, the posadas have changed, since they went from being held inside the churches to houses or the streets as popular festivals, which changed their primary objective, which was to prepare to receive Jesus in each home, while representing the opportunity to live together as a family, as well as reflect on the relationship you have with other people.
