Las Posadas, Mexico
Las Posadas is a Mexican tradition where two people take on the role of Mary and Joseph and travel to a different home in the community each night in the 9 days before Christmas, re-enacting the journey that the pregnant Mary and Joseph took on their way to Bethlehem. It’s a chance to gather together, to celebrate and share the excitement of Christmas and to retell the story - remembering how vulnerable the young couple were as they made their way. It’s a vivid way of teaching the story to a new generation.
One way of continuing Las Posadas (the lodgings) I came across a few years ago is to use two nativity figures of Mary and Joseph (wooden, knitted, clay - whatever you like) and pass them from house to house in the days leading to Christmas. Doing so reminds us of the journey Mary and Joseph took but it’s also a great excuse to get together as a community in a ‘hospitality relay'. Each night the figures move from one house to the next bringing people together to catch up, look forward to Christmas and perhaps share some food together. It’s a nice way of making time for one another in the midst of what can be a busy and stressful time.
You could arrange with friends and family in your community (perhaps 8 homes if you want to do the 9 days leading up to Christmas, but it could be any number) to re-enact the journey of Mary and Joseph and pass a pair of figures from place to place. In doing so we remember the hospitality Mary and Joseph experienced and create new opportunities for hospitality to blossom today. You could could weave them into your everyday lives, taking them with you to a coffee shop for one handover, and then maybe they go to someone’s home, and perhaps after that to a community centre and then out to get Tapas…
You could say a simple prayer each time the figures are passed on such as the following:
Eternal God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
We welcome this chance to share together in hospitality
and pray that you will bless this place
and bless all who find themselves travelling on the road
in need of rest and sanctuary.
Amen.
James Cathcart