Make Your Choice! The Posadas or Guadalupe-Reyes Marathon?

Even if I count myself as a non-believer, 95% of Mexicans are Christians of every denomination possible, and 85% of them are Catholics. Like most of us, I was raised Catholic, and, like most musically inclined Catholic children all around the world, I was part of a church choir (and later the state choir, but that’s just self-praise and not really relevant). Therefore, Christmas was the highlight of my year, with many recitals in churches and Posadas, and me wearing a scarf and a red sweater everywhere, which, of course, are kind of overstatements in the mild Tepic winter (with most nights never below 45°F). Christmas time is the setting for most of my great childhood memories, and, like everything else, has a special flavor in Mexico!

If you are already acquainted with the local community, it’s possible that over the years you have been invited to a Posada (inn, in Spanish) or two. As pretty much every trait of the Mexican culture, Posadas can be traced back to the colonial times, and pinpointed around the late 1550s. The Catholic friars sent over to evangelize (or subjugate… yet again a whole other topic) the native Mexicans tried to develop a way to easily spread the word about the Bible episodes related to the birth of baby Jesus, and after what I’d like to imagine were several weeks of serious and intense debates, they came to the conclusion that the best way to bring them over to their side was… theatrical plays followed by parties.

And so, after several centuries of evolution, the Posadas we’re familiar with would probably be still recognizable to a time traveler. The usual gatherings start after December 12^th, Our Lady of Guadalupe’s feast, which to some Mexicans is the second most important holiday of the year, and the date from which government and private offices all over the country slowly descend into hibernation and are only staffed by the poor souls who have been in their position for less than a year and therefore have no vacations (so, if you have any taxes, paperwork or business to do, hurry up, you still have a week!) and they end on December 24^th, Christmas Eve, la Posada Mayor, when we have our full-dress Christmas dinner as opposed to December 25^th like it happens in many other countries.

The usual Posada is organized by a) families in a neighborhood­—and in some of the most traditional neighborhoods, the organizer role can be booked years in advance!—, b) neighborhood, church or government committees, c) workplaces and d) pretty much everyone with a plot of land, food and/or booze: lacking one (or any) of these elements, you can bet someone will offer to bring them over.

The most traditional Posadas (usually those organized by families and committees) usually start by singing the Posada song. Posada, again, means “inn” but pedir posada means “asking for a shelter”… and in comes the Bible. If you are familiar with the basics of Christianity, you may recall that Saint Joseph and Saint Mary were looking for a shelter when they arrived in Bethlehem, and they eventually had to stay in the stable of an inn, where Jesus was born. Well, the Posada song is a dialogue recreating that scene in urban 19^th century Spanish, with some people outside the door of the venue playing the role of the pilgrims, and some inside playing the role of innkeepers, and all of them with sparklers and candles at hand. In the end, the refrain is sung by the jubilous crowd, with the innkeepers allowing the pilgrims to enter the house.

After the Posada has officially begun, carols are sung, from the beautiful baroque and 19^th century carols of the Spanish tradition to translations of English language carols, passing through Latin American carols, and the world-famous piñata is broken.

Seven-pointed piñatas are the quintessential model, and —once again!—their origin intertwines with Mexican history. While there are many historical clues which point towards something like a piñata, including customs such as blindfolding the participant hitting the piñata and using a clay pot, in Mayan and Aztec cultures (Aztecs used them to celebrate the birth of Hutizilopochtli, the god of war and the central deity in their pantheon), there are also records pointing to ox-shaped piñata-like objects being used in China to celebrate the New Year around 12^th century AD, and, thanks to the Silk Road, they became popular in the southern Mediterranean (the word piñata clearly comes from the Italian pignatta, “earthenware pot”, or so the linguists say) including Spain, from where they were brought over to Mexico.

Curiously enough, there is a very precise record of the first use of piñatas with the purpose of evangelization within the Posadas: in 1586, Augustinian friars in Acolman, now a suburb of Mexico City, requested (and received) authorization from pope Sixtus V to celebrate “Christmas masses” in which they used piñatas with seven points representing the seven capital sins, and filled them with fresh fruit to indicate how overcoming sin always brings a reward to all men. From then on, the appeal of fruits and candy and the sheer fun of banging on a pot with a club did the rest, and piñatas are now a part of birthdays, christenings, first communions and essentially any child-centered celebration.

Alas, the marks of piñatas in Mexicans of a certain age are not only sweet memories of childhood. In my generation (I’m turning 30 next year) it was still common to ask if a piñata would be “de barro o de cartón“, that is, clay or papier-maché. Clay piñatas are much more fun… but some of us, including my poor sister, still have little scars on our heads, the result of running one second too soon and being unsuspectedly hit by a falling piece of a broken pot.

While all of this is very family friendly, you might realize we haven’t begun to cover sections c) and d) of Posada organizers. Well, most of us work somewhere and have friends that we only see at Christmas, since this is the only almost universal vacation time in Mexico. Therefore, it is not uncommon to have a Posada with your friends at the office (which can go from a small lunch to an actual ballroom party), another one with your old high school friends, your soccer team or your gym mates, and, well, this being Mexico there are rather high odds that beer and tequila will be involved. There is usually no Posada song, but piñatas are commonplace, and gift exchanges and dancing are a must.

If you happen to have a full social calendar from December 12^th (Our Lady of Guadalupe) to January 6^th (Día de Reyes, the feast of the Three Wise Men and the date in which some children in more traditional families get their Christmas gifts, especially in and around Mexico City) and manage to have at least a drink a day in these gatherings, congratulations! You are a now a certified runner of the Guadalupe-Reyes marathon. (You can always run a Reyes-Guadalupe marathon, in which case I might suggest you see a doctor first!)

I only made it happen once, when I was in college… but some Mexicans into their 60’s and 70’s, whom are otherwise model citizens, take this chance to embrace friends from their younger times and form connections for the coming years, as Posadas are a melting pot of people from your past and your future, the grand finale to a year and the hope to start a new one.

Of course, the way the world is turning now, most Posadas will happen online, and perhaps we won’t break piñatas and sing carols this year. However, if we have food on our plates, a roof over our heads, and someone to care for us, whether living at home or in touch over Zoom, we should count ourselves lucky and be thankful for overcoming this ghoulish year. I encourage you to not miss the occasion to drink to the memory of those who left us this year and toast the health of those you love, and sing a carol on your hearth. Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, use December to take a breath, smile, and join me in hoping 2021 will bring back shaking hands and embracing our loved ones.

¡Felices fiestas y próspero año nuevo!

P.S If you want to, take a look into my custom Posada music playlist in Spotify. Find it here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1nvf0jJ2swf6OAP2bWTJr9?si=xM3FCwGLSqmxEp0tRbOGYQ