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The phrase "Las Posadas" translates to "the inns." It refers to the attempts of Mary and Joseph to find room at an inn for the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. Each night, celebrants and musicians gather for candlelight processions, led by children dressed as the Holy Family and the Three Wise Men, and travel from home to home singing and requesting permission to enter until welcomed by an "innkeeper." At last, the food!
Among the essential dishes of holiday parties are ponche (punch), antojitos (snacks or appetizers), colaciones (light foods like sugar balls), pozole (hominy, pork and chile stew) and, of course, tamales, the ever-present Mexican holiday food. Ultimately, the foods and recipes are regionally dependent, as much of Mexican cuisine is. Zarela Martinez, matriarch of Mexican restaurants in New York and owner of Zarela, likes to serve pozole during Las Posadas. "It is easy to do and everyone loves it."
Central to Las Posadas is the piñata, usually filled with oranges, guavas, peanuts, sugar cane and assorted candies. Today, it is viewed as a party game, but it has religious and pre-Columbian roots. The piñata symbolizes the sweet hope and prize from the sky (i.e. the Aztec sun god/Christ) that falls when it is broken open with a stick.
Martinez says she will observe the holiday at Zarela. "We will have Posada specialties, particularly tostadas de tinga (shredded pork dish), tamales and pozole during one of the weekend menus." Remember, it's about the food.
Do you celebrate Las Posadas? Tell us about your party in the comments below.
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12-16-2009 @3:24PM Rt said... Not being of the proper descent I don't celebrate "Las Posadas". I also do not celebrate Hannukah.
Thanksgiving and Independence Day are manufactured holidays and should be recognized as such.
That is not to say nationalism is not a just cause for a holiday/celebration, look at all the 'president's days' we have in the US, but to confuse that with religion is to denigrate the meaning of the occasion.
I despise that one religion has been hi-jacked for the purpose of Christmas.
But "Let's not kid ourselves..." holidays are about spending money.
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12-16-2009 @5:41PM Tina said... Wow, that first comment is kind of a downer. Anyways, in our family, we are Mexican American, along time ago my grandma started a tradition of having Las Posadas but done on a much smaller scale. One night at her house with family and friends. Instead of 9 nights at different neighbors/friends/family homes, we would go from sliding glass door, to back door, to front door singing religious Christmas songs,with whoever was youngest at the time as Joseph and Mary and her baby Jesus doll she got from Mexico, asking at each door for shelter, finally at the front door an uncle or two would let us in and we'd sing Joy To The World, and then Jingle Bells or Rudolph. And of course there were always tamales, rice,beans,flan, all kinds of food, and the pinatas! One for the little kids one for the big kids. My beloved grandmother is gone now, but my brother carries our Americanized Las Posada tradition on in memory of her and everyone looks forward to it all year.
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12-16-2009 @5:54PM JRalat said... That's fantastic, Tina. It's difficult to keep traditions alive from one generation to the next. My wife is Mexican American and most of her grandparents' customs have fallen by the wayside after three generations in this country. Even I as a native Puerto Rican find it hard to continue some customs here in the States. It takes work, but it's part of who we are, right? That's why my wife and I are making it a point to introduce our son to some of our traditions (namely, Day of the Dead and Nochebuena). Writing and reading about it sure has been a tremendous help.
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12-17-2009 @10:38AM Trae said... I love any celebration that includes "light foods like sugar balls"!! What a great tradition.
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1-21-2010 @8:10PM vaca said... Curiously, I blogged about going to a cenaduria for my brother's birthday last weekend today http://bit.ly/8QdrUc, at least in the northwest we have posadas, but they're more similar to a family or office Christmas party, this/last year we had tamales and champurrado, definite musts for the cold weather.
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