Las Posadas -A Journey Towards Christmas
Would you like to join us on a special journey of Advent Preparation? This year we are adapting the Mexican tradition of Las Pasados which we would like to invite all ages, young and old, to enjoy.
In Mexico “Las Posadas” is celebrated during Advent when villagers carry figures of Mary, Joseph and the donkey from house to house in a re-enactment of their search for lodging in Bethlehem. The figures are accepted in a different home every night until Christmas Eve, when they are taken to the local church and the baby Jesus is put in the crib in the Nativity Scene.
We have adapted this tradition so that you can now offer to give a home to our own Posada family (small figures of Mary, Joseph and the donkey), who will be looking for “lodging” during Advent. The journey begins on the first Sunday of Advent and will end when the Posadas figures are brought back to the Church in time for our Christmas Masses. One family will take the nativity figures home from church, welcome them into their home with simple prayers and find a place to display them. The next day this family will pack up the figures and travel to a neighbour, who has also agreed to go on this journey with Mary and Joseph.
An important aspect of Las Posadas is to remind us how important we are to each other as a community and to appreciate the kindness of friends and strangers. The giving and the receiving of a little hospitality with families you may not know is an important part of this process. When it is your turn to welcome Mary and Joseph, you and your family will receive the figures at the same time as you welcome the family who has had them for the day before you. They will arrange a time to come to your home and lead the prayers and they will leave the figures with you. You will provide light refreshments (tea, coffee, biscuits…maybe a mince pie). On the following day, you will travel to the next family’s home and this time your family will lead the prayers. You will therefore need to be able to set aside an hour on 2 separate days (once to receive the figures in your home and once to travel with the figures to the next home)
If your family would like to host the Posada family for a night as a reminder of what Christmas is really all about, please add your name to the sign- up sheet at the back of the church before Sunday November 20th.