Friday 17th December 2010..the festivities begin!!

Had my usual 2 hours of tennis this morning followed by some time reading in the back yard and then at 6pm went to the central plaza and saw this wedding party just leaving the main church.

Then I met up with all the girls from Casa Hogar..

As they were meeting for the Posada….this is taken from the web…

Typically, each family in a neighbourhood will schedule a night for the Posada to be held at their home, starting on the 16th of December and finishing on the 24th. Every home has a nativity scene and the hosts of the Posada act as the innkeepers. The neighbourhood 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). Latin American countries have continued to celebrate this holiday to this day, with very few changes to the tradition. In some places, the final location may be a church instead of a home. Individuals may actually play the various parts of Mary (María) and Joseph with the expectant mother riding a real donkey (burro), with attendants such as angels and shepherds acquired along the way, or the pilgrims may carry images of the holy personages instead. At the end of the long journey, there will be Christmas carols (villancicos), children will break open piñatas by striking these colourful paper-Mache objects with bats while blindfolded to obtain candy hidden inside, and there will be a feast. Traditionally, it is expected to meet all the invitees in a previous procession.

 

My girls looked so beautiful…

They even even had the donkey and the lambs!!!

The first two places they stop they are “not allowed” in but then they find the right Inn!!!

Then the celebrations of prayer, carols, food and fun begin…

Again I am amazed at how well all of the girls behave..those little ones must have been tired after the walk but no complaints and nothing but smiles…it was a lovely evening!!!