Christmas is here

Well, here I am in sunny Mexico City thinking about storytelling and about the ways in which the story of Jesus' birth has been translated into different folkloric traditions. Here in my homeland, we celebrate the season with "posadas". The image on the right was taken in Colonia Roma, Villa Gustavo A. Madero, DF, Mexico by Esparta.

This is a party in which people re-enact the birth of Jesus by carrying images or little statues of Mary and Joseph around the street, (see the image on Flickr by the Catholic Sun)and singing specific carols until reaching a designated house. The carols are a dialogue where the people in the street ask the people inside the house for permission to enter, and the people inside come up with excuses, why nobody can come in just yet, just yet.... the signing goes on and on and it is quite ritualized, with set tunes, and questions and answers, until finally, one house, opens the door, everyone gets in and then there is a grand party with the children breaking a pinata...
( a claypot, decorated into traditional images, like stars, or the sun, and filled with fruit and candy). The image of these wonderful star-shaped pinatas was taken by El Sol.

I have gotten quite sentimental thinking about this type of celebrations since I went every year until my 21st, to these parties and loved it. Sometimes I was part of the people singing outside the house, and other times, inside their house, readying everything to welcome the Holy family into our home. Feliz Navidad!