Nine Days of Posadas

We interrupt our regularly scheduled December comfort foods series to bring you the following special bulletin.

Since yesterday night, December 15, there have been sightings of Joseph and Mary’s quest for shelter around the streets of La Antigua Guatemala. María and José are walking around Antigua Guatemala, knocking on people’s doors to ask for posada. Our eye witness reporter has been able to gather the following information regarding the quest for lodging:

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)… This according to Mrs. Wikipedia Enciclopedia de Quiensabe.

We will update you with new information as soon as our on-site reporters finish their ponche and tamales…

#$%&/()”!¡?¿… We just received this video feed from our diligent multimedia reporter Kara Andrade.

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