Mascota

In Mexico, Christmas is celebrated from December 12th to January 6th.

Today, December 16th, is the day that children start the 'Posada' processions. (Posada means inn or a lodging) For nine nights, posadas are held. These celebrate the part of the Christmas story where Joseph and Mary looked for somewhere to stay. For the Posadas, the outside of houses are

often decorated with evergreens, moss and paper lanterns.

Families hold candles and walk in a big group down a streets. They knock on the houses of friends and neighbors and sing a song at each home. The song they sing is about Joseph and Mary asking for a room in the house. But the children are told that there is no room in the house and that they must go away. Eventually, on Christmas Eve, they are told there is room and are welcomed in! We haven’t seen a posada in Mascota yet, but we probably will see one in the following 8 days.

We have already seen some nativity scenes, known as the 'nacimientos', set up in the town. There is one in the centre of the town’s plaza. These are very popular in Mexico and some of them are very large, with the figures being life size or bigger. Sometimes a whole room in a house is used for the nacimiento. The figures are often made of clay and are traditionally passed down through families. In other parts of Mexico, we have seen these scenes with the traditional figures as well as camels and elephants, women cooking tortillas and some places even have flamingoes. Here, so far, we have only seen traditional figures in all sizes.

At 8 p.m., children performed dances to upbeat Christmas carols, on a stage set up in the square.
The weather is cool at night but actually quite pleasant at night so hot cinnamon drinks were sold to warm us up.

Wouldn’t you know, a skinny Santa arrived in a truck with flashing lights and handed out chocolates with a flourish. So funny. His beard kept falling off as he lifted up kids and hugged them.

There is a type of humorous Christmas play performed here, known as Pastorelas (The Shepherds). It tells the story of the shepherds going to find the baby Jesus. Along the way, the
Devil and his troupe of devils try to stop the shepherds by tempting them in various ways. But in the end, the shepherds find the manger, often with the help of the Archangel Michael, who comes and beats the devil. The high school kids performed this play on the stage after the dancing.

We returned home and heard some great drumming getting closer and closer. Then a band started playing and car horns were beeping. Santa (this one much fatter) and a full band were coming down the street in a trailer pulled by a truck. They stopped right beside our house, got out and played some great (loud) music for 1/2 hour. Then fireworks and dancing with Santa ended the program! They piled back into the trailer and they drove off.

Christmas traditions here are a little different from what we have experienced in other places in Mexico. We are interested in seeing what happens during the next 9 nights.

the end, the shepherds always find the manger. The local high school kids put on this play on a stage set up in the centre square.

the help of the Archangel Michael, who comes and beats the devil!Read more