The holiday season is a time to spend with friends and loved ones, celebrating traditions together. In Mexico and in some areas of Latin America, families and friends recreate Mary and Joseph’s journey for shelter in Bethlehem with a tradition called posadas (or “lodging”). For Latinos living in the U.S., the posadas tradition is also very much alive.
The posadas usually start on December 16 and last for nine days through Christmas Eve (Nochebuena or “Holy Night”). Families and friends take turns hosting the posadas at their homes on each of the nine days leading up to Christmas Eve.
Pattie Cordova of Living Mi Vida Loca enjoys celebrating the holiday posadas and offers tips for people thinking of hosting posadas. She recommends having candles and a piñata, playing villancicos (Christmas carols) from your smartphone, using speakers like the Pill speaker by Beats and serving traditional food such as pan dulce (sweet pastries) that can be found at a number of Mexican bakeries. The YP app can help you locate bakeries in your area.
If you’d rather cook yourself for your posadas guests, apps like Flavorful Mexican Recipes feature a variety of dishes, such as homemade tamales or churros. Champurrado is a popular hot drink served during the posadas, made with corn flour, cocoa, cinnamon and milk. Cordova shows how the drink is prepared.
For extra fun, you can buy or make colorful piñatas for children to enjoy at the end of the posadas. Or, the Piñatas app for Android and iOS devices is an option to keep young ones entertained.
To learn more about posadas, check out this post from Spanglish Baby.