Elementary and middle school Spanish students will be coming together on Thursday, December 16th, to celebrate the tradition of the Posada Novena. Students will be visiting classrooms to say a prayer in Spanish, sing "Feliz Navidad", and present the children with Spanish Christmas cards and candy. The history behind this sacred tradition is explained in the following paragraphs.
During the nine days previous to Christmas, the celebration of a novena is common. In Mexico, this novena is known as posada, “lodging,” and recalls the journey Joseph and Mary took from Nazareth to Bethlehem prior to the birth of Jesus. Rich in symbolism, the posada starts with the praying of the rosary.
For the posada the faithful process with the peregrinos, “travelers,” Joseph and Mary—the characters can be portrayed by children in costume and accompanied by a donkey—who travel from home to home where they are turned away. The peregrinos lead the procession while the faithful sing Advent songs. On the ninth day at the last stop, Joseph and Mary finally receive lodging. The holy travelers are welcomed inside with a beautiful song, part of which proclaims, “Come in, holy travelers; receive this humble home that I offer you with love.”
The celebration continues with the breaking of a star-shaped piñata. The seven points of the star represent the seven capital sins. Pretty and colorful, the piñata reminds the faithful of the allure of sin.
People try breaking the piñata while blindfolded. The blindfold represents faith, wherein one believes without seeing and which is necessary to break with evil. The stick the person uses to break the piñata represents the power of God through the Gospel, which is the tool Christians have to help them fight evil.
Because the person is blindfolded, he needs others to guide him; this signifies the necessity of the Christian community, which plays an important role helping the individual Christian to fight evil. Together—the person breaking the piñata and the community helping them—represent the Church, which reminds the faithful that as a Church we need to be in communion with each other. The fruit and candy that spill out of the piñata when it’s finally broken represent God’s grace, which is given to all.
Once the piñata is broken the celebration continues with the distribution of colacion, which are similar to party favor bags, as a sign of communion and sharing. Finally, the host of the posada may offer a simple dinner.
Another version of the posada novena is the Novena Navideña celebrated in South America, particularly in Colombia, in which families pray around their home Nativity scene for nine days. Each night a candle is lit, which eventually creates a path toward the empty manger. The family sings joyful carols each night.
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