!Feliz Navidad! and Las Posadas-Dec. 16-24
davidsummerford | December 12, 2009 David Summerford
Las Posadas: from December 16-24
Las Posadas originated in colonial Mexico. The Augustinian friars of San Agustin de Acolman, near Mexico City, are believed to have organized the first posadas. In 1586, Friar Diego de Soria, the Augustinian prior, obtained a papal bull from Pope Sixtus V to celebrate what was called ‘Misas de Aguinaldo’ or ‘Christmas bonus masses’ between December 16 and 24.
The tradition seems to be one of many examples of how the Catholic religion in Mexico was adapted to make it easier for the indigenous people to understand and blend with their earlier beliefs. The Aztecs had a tradition of honoring their god Huitzilopochtli at the same time of year, coinciding with the winter solstice.
The Posada celebrations were originally held in the church but the custom spread. Later it was celebrated in haciendas, and then in family homes, gradually taking the form of the celebration as it is now practiced by the time of the 19th century. Now, neighborhood committees often organize the posadas and a different family will offer to host the celebration each night. The other people in the neighborhood bring food, candy, and piñatas so that the costs of the party don’t fall only on the host family.
Adults, including musicians, follow the procession, which visits selected homes and asks for lodging for Joseph and Mary. Traditionally, the procession is always refused lodging, though the hosts often provide refreshments. At each stop, passages of scripture are read and Christmas carols are sung.
Mass is held each day after the procession and, after the service, children break open piñatas filled with candy, toys, and occasionally money. The piñatas are usually crafted in the form of a star, which is said to have guided the three wise men of Biblical tradition to the newborn Jesus.
Las Posadas
In the name of heaven
En nombre del cielo
I ask you for lodging
Os pido posada
Because she can't walk
Pues no puede andar
My beloved wife
Mi esposa amada
This is not an inn
Aquí no es mesón
Keep walking along
Sigan adelante
I shall not open
Yo no debo abrir
You might be a thug
No sea algún tunante
Dont be inhumane
No seas inhumano
Give us charity
Dennos caridad
For the God of Heaven
Que el Dios de los cielos
Will reward you for it
Os lo premiará
You can leave now
Ya se pueden ir
And dont bother us
Y no molestar
Because if I get angry
Porque si me enfado
I will beat you up
Los voy a apalear
My wife is Mary
Mi esposa es María
She's the queen of heaven
Es Reina del Cielo
And the mother she will be
Y madre va a ser
Of the divine being
Del Divino Verbo
Is it you Joseph?
¿Eres tú José?
Your wife is Mary?
¿Tu esposa es María?
Come in, pilgrims
Entren, peregrinos
I didn't recognise you
No los conocía
May God pay you, gentlemen
Dios pague, señores
For your charity
Vuestra caridad
And may heaven fill you
Y os colme el cielo
Of happiness
De felicidad
Blessed is the house
Dichosa la casa
That makes this day happy
Que alegra este día
To the pure virgin
A la Virgen pura
The beautiful Mary
La hermosa María
Enter, holy pilgrims, holy pilgrims
Entren, Santos Peregrinos, Peregrinos
Receive this corner
Reciban este rincón
Though the dwelling is poor, the dwelling
Aunque pobre la morada, la morada
I give it to you from my heart
Os la doy de corazón
Enter, holy pilgrims, holy pilgrims
Entren, Santos Peregrinos, Peregrinos
Receive this corner
Reciban este rincón
Though the dwelling is poor, the dwelling
Aunque pobre la morada, la morada
I give it to you from my heart
Os la doy de corazón
Enter, holy pilgrims, holy pilgrims
Entren, Santos Peregrinos, Peregrinos
Receive this corner
Reciban este rincón
Die Posadas sind vorweihnachtliche Feiern, die in Mexiko ab dem 16. Dezember gefeiert werden. Es sind insgesamt 9 Tage und jeder Tag bedeutet ein Monat der Schwangerschaft von Maria. Sie stellen die Suche Marias und Josephs nach einer Herberge auf ihrem Weg von Nazaret bis Betlehem vor der Geburt Jesu dar. Die letzte Posada wird deshalb am Heiligabend gefeiert.
Die Tradition kommt von den Augustinern, welche in ihrem Versuch die Indianer zu bekehren deren Sitten nutzten, um sie dem christlichen Glauben anzupassen. So feierten die Azteken im Dezember das Kommen Huitzilopochtlis. Die erste Posada fand statt im Kloster von Alcolman im Nordosten von Mexiko-Stadt. Dazu gab es immer Piñatas und es wurden Weihnachtslieder gesungen.
Heutzutage hat sich die Tradition geändert. Freunde und Verwandte treffen sich in einem Haus. Manche stehen vor der Eingangstür und stellen Maria und Joseph dar, die um eine Bleibe bitten. Im Haus ist der Gastwirt mit seinen Gästen. Abwechselnd wird gesungen. Alle haben eine kleine Kerze in der Hand. Manchmal tragen Kinder die Figuren Maria, Joseph und den Esel in der Hand.
Die draußen Stehenden fangen an zu singen:
En el nombre del cielo
os pido posada
pues no puede andar
mi esposa amada.
Im Haus wird geantwortet mit:
Aquí no es mesón,
sigan adelante
Yo no debo abrir,
no sea algún tunante.
Alle vier Verse wechselt man sich ab.
No seas inhumano,
tennos caridad,
que el Dios de los cielos
te lo premiará.
Ya se pueden ir
y no molestar
porque si me enfado
os voy a apalear.
Venimos rendidos
desde Nazaret,
yo soy carpintero
de nombre José.
No me importa el nombre,
déjenme dormir,
pues que yo les digo
que nos hemos de abrir.
Posada te pide,
amado casero,
por sólo una noche
la Reina del Cielo.
Pues si es una reina
quien lo solicita,
¿cómo es que de noche
anda tan solita?
Mi esposa es María,
es Reina del Cielo
y madre va a ser
del Divino Verbo.
¿Eres ú José?
¿Tu esposa es María?
Entren, peregrinos,
no los conocía.
Dios pague, señores,
vuestra caridad,
y que os colme el cielo
de felicidad.
¡Dichosa la casa
que alberga este día
a la Viren pura.
la hermosa María!
Zum Schluss singen alle:
Entren, Santos Peregrinos,
reciban este rincón,
que aunque es pobre la morada,
os la doy de corazón.
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posadas_(Fest)
One more comment from Irapuato
David Summerford plays Feliz Navidad while pictures depicting the Mexican tradition of Las Posadas flash on the screen. Las Posadas (Spanish for "the inns") is a nine-day celebration with origins in Spain beginning December 16 and ending December 24. It is a yearly tradition for many Catholic Mexicans and some other Latin Americans and symbolizes the trials which Mary and Joseph endured before finding a place to stay where Jesus could be born, based on the passage in the New Testament, the Gospel of Luke (2:1-9): "Now, at this time Caesar Augustus issued a decree for a census of the whole world to be taken. This census -- the first -- took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria, and everyone went to his home town to be registered. So Joseph set out from the town of Nazareth in Galilee and traveled up to Judaea, to the town of David called Bethlehem, since he was of David's House and lineage, in order to be registered together with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to a son, her first-born. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them at the inn. In the countryside close by there were shepherds who lived in the fields and took turns watching their flocks during the night. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them."[1] Typically, each family in a neighborhood will schedule a night for the Posada to be held at their home, starting on the 16th of December and finishing on the 24th. Every home has a nativity scene and the hosts of the Posada act as the innkeepers. The neighborhood children and adults are the pilgrims (peregrinos), who have to request lodging by going house to house singing a traditional song about the pilgrims. All the pilgrims carry small lit candles in their hands, and four people carry small statues of Joseph leading a donkey, on which Mary is riding. The head of the procession will have a candle inside a paper lamp shade. At each house, the resident responds by refusing lodging (also in song), until the weary travelers reach the designated site for the party, where Mary and Joseph are finally recognized and allowed to enter. Once the "innkeepers" let them in, the group of guests come into the home and kneel around the Nativity scene to pray (typically, the Rosary). Latin American countries have continued to celebrate this holiday to this day, with very few changes to the tradition. In some places, the final location may be a church instead of a home. Individuals may actually play the various parts of Mary (María) and Joseph with the expectant mother riding a real donkey (burro), with attendants such as angels and shepherds acquired along the way, or the pilgrims may carry images of the holy personages instead. At the end of the long journey, there will be Christmas carols (villancicos), children will break open piñatas by striking these colorful papier-maché objects with bats while blindfolded to obtain candy hidden inside, and there will be a feast. Traditionally, it is expected to meet all the invitees in a previous procession