Mexico: Urban, Middle-Class Posadas Take On Features of U.S. Culture - Anthropologist

Traditional Mexican Piñata with Seven Cones
representing Seven Deadly Sins

Today is December 16th, the first day of the Mexican tradition of Posadas—'Inns', or more specifically, the pilgrimage of Joseph and Mary asking innkeepers for shelter. Posadas mark the nine days leading up to Christmas Eve on December 24th.

At the heart of Posadas are families and neighbors who gather to commemorate Joseph's and Mary's journey to Bethlehem in order to fulfill the Roman decree and await the imminent birth of their Child. The religious core of Posadas is the novena—praying the rosary together each day for nine days, each day representing one month of Mary's pregnancy.

The festivities begin by a re-enactment of the pilgrimage. Two children dress as Mary and Joseph; others dress as angels and shepherds. Knocking at different doors, the pilgrims recite the traditional request for lodging. Twice they are ritually turned away by the person designated to be the 'innkeeper' at that door. 

At the third door, the 'innkeeper' agrees to give shelter to Mary and Joseph, and the fiesta begins. Everyone os offered atole (sweetened corn drink) and three kinds of pozole (hominy soup): red (carne-beef), white (pollo-chicken) and green (green chiles). Yes, red, white and green are the colors of the Mexican flag. 

The children then enthusiastically take part in striking a piñata. The traditional style piñata has seven cones, each marked with streamers and represent the Seven Deadly Sins (pecados): greed, gluttony, sloth, pride, envy, wrath and lust. 

Four years ago, when we'd just moved to Mexico City, I wrote a post about our experiences with Posada in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, including the Mesoamerican roots (hint: piñatas) of this very Mexican tradition. The post ends with this comment: "Today many Posadas have lost their religious roots. We're curious to learn how they are celebrated in our new urban home, Coyoacán in Mexico City. Stay tuned!"

Our apartment is in a seven-story condominium building. To our chagrin, we have indeed learned first-hand "how posadas are celebrated in urban settings". So the title of this piece that appeared today in La Jornada newspaper immediately caught my eye. Enjoy! 

 La Jornada: Emir Olivares Alonso

The chill of the early hours of a December night are no obstacle. A good jacket is enough to take to the streets and enjoy the evening. In colonias [communities], barrios, vecindades [two names for neighborhood], and pueblos [villages], the people, particularly the smaller ones, anxiously await these nine days. Among candles, lanterns, chants, prayers, procession, buñuelos [honey-laced, cinnamon fritter], ponche [fruit punch] and, of course, the piñata "game", the neighbors celebrate the traditional posadas.

Today, particularly among the middle class [and especially in the major cities], this celebration has been diversified by abandoning traditional Mexican features and adopting such influences from U.S. culture, including ornaments with figures of Santa Claus, reindeer and snowmen; Christmas trees and twinkling lights on house façades. In some places, posadas have ceased being a celebration for children and have become adult parties with drink, food and dance.

Andrés Medina Hernández from the Institute of Anthropological Research at the National Autonomous University of Mexico [UNAM] and a specialist in the posada tradition, points out that the middle-class is "most sensitive" to U.S. cultural propaganda [Medina's word], but the cultural heritage survives in working-class neighborhoods, pueblos [villages] and indigenous communities.

Traditionally, posadas were festivities with a religious tinge. Historical data relating the early years of the Spanish Colony recount that in 1587, Brother Diego de San Soria, of the Augustinian order in charge of the Convent of San Agustín Acolman, asked Pope Sixtus V for a papal document. The Pope gave his Aval [Backing] to celebrate bonus Masses annually between December 16 and 24 in several churches.

Across the centuries, the tradition was transformed and became a popular street festival that could take place in the atriums of neighborhood churches, in streets that neighbors took over for a few hours, in the great houses of the wealthiest people, or in neighborhood plazas. But the religious element was always kept intact, with festivities beginning with the procession of pilgrims and the so-called "request for shelter", "petición de posada" [Joseph and Mary asking the innkeeper for shelter].

In recent years, however, more of a consumer element has crept in:

"The entire U.S. cultural current—part of neoliberalism—promotes individualism. The posadas are a collective celebration, but abandonment of the collective spirit is encouraged in the middle-class sectors, which have now taken on drinking and dancing. Today posadas are an excuse to party."

Piñatas

Medina Hernández explained the transformation in both form and content of the traditional piñata—a key element of posadas. About 30 years ago, they were still made of clay and resembled stars (historical documents confirm their seven peaks refer to the Seven Deadly Sins) and were filled with piñata fruits. Now, however, they are made of cardboard and represent television personalities, sports and movie starts, and they are filled with sweets and chocolates produced by the large companies.

For Medina, other circumstances in addition to U.S. trends have influenced the diversification of posadas: the growing insecurity in some parts of the country, the loss of religiosity among many sectors of the population, and urbanization based on vertical condominiums where "relations between neighbors are not always cordial."

Andrés Medina Hernández concludes:

"[Traditional] posadas have not disappeared, but they are not reported by the media. Posada and other traditions are well rooted in Mexico City's indigenous pueblos, neighborhoods and marginal areas. [They are alive and well in Mexico City] in places like Xochimilco, Iztapalapa, Tláhuac, Milpa Alta; and in such communities as Guerrero and Aragón; and in other states. That's where they are."

Spanish original


Other Christmas posts:

• Mexico Traditions: Pastorelas;
• Mexican Traditions: Posadas;
• Mexico: Urban, Middle-Class Posadas Take on Features of U.S. Culture;
• Christmas.

Mexican Traditions: Las Posadas

Today is December 16th, the first day of the Mexican tradition of Posadas ('Inns'), which mark the nine days leading up to Christmas Eve on December 24th.

At the heart of Posadas are families and neighbors who gather to commemorate Joseph's and Mary's journey to Bethlehem in order to fulfill the Roman decree and await the imminent birth of their Child. The religious core of Posadas is the novena—praying the rosary together each day for nine days, each day representing one month of Mary's pregnancy.

We first experienced Posadas in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, where each barrio (neighborhood) holds its Posada on a different night. The first one we attended was hosted by the swimming school where we swam three times a week.

Driving up to the school, we were startled to see a bonfire (fogata) blazing away right in the middle of the street.  ¡Es México!  Students and their families sat on chairs set up around the fire, chatting quietly and watching the flames dance.

After saying the rosary together as a group, there was some brief confusion, then the pilgrimage began. Two children were dressed as Mary and Joseph; others were dressed as angels and shepherds.

Knocking at the school's different doors, the pilgrims recited the traditional request for lodging. Twice they were ritually turned away by the person designated to be the 'innkeeper' at that door.

Mexican newspaper, Milenio, posted this charming
watercolor of Pilgrims Seeking Shelter at the Inn

At the third door, the 'innkeeper' agreed to give shelter to Mary and Joseph, and the fiesta began. Everyone was offered atole (sweetened corn drink) and three kinds of pozole (hominy soup—Reed's favorite!): red (carne-beef), white (pollo-chicken) and green (green chiles). Yes, red, white and green are the colors of the Mexican flag.

The children engaged enthusiastically in striking a piñata. The traditional style piñata has seven points, each marked with streamers. The cones represent the Seven Deadly Sins (pecados): greed, gluttony, sloth, pride, envy, wrath and lust.

Traditional Piñatas:
Seven Cones Symbolize Seven Deadly Sins

Blindfolded and dizzy from being spun around, each child in turn (personifying 'blind faith') hits at the piñata with a big stick symbolizing virtue. When the piñata yield at last to the children's 'virtuous' blows of 'blind faith', dulces (sweets) and fruit fall to the ground. These fruits and candies (manna) represent God's grace freely given when faith triumphs over sin.

We were also blessed to enjoy a Posada at the home of a Mexican friend. Their house is on a dead end street, which had been closed off for the night. So we got out of the cab and walked up. As we walked, we passed perhaps three or four small fogatas (campfires) in the street. Around each fire, a small family group sat chatting quietly.

When we arrived at the house, our host family had almost finished saying the rosary together, led by a woman from the church. Everyone was served the traditional atole and posole. Also traditional is ponche, a sweet punch prepared from seasonal fruits (Mexican hawthorn berries, tamarind, apple, sugar cane, guayaba).

After a time, the pilgrims arrived singing at the front door, carrying candles and bearing a nacimiento (creche). Once again, children dressed as Mary and Joseph were accompanied by others dressed as angels and shepherds and, again, the litany was repeated: Joseph's ritual plea for a place to stay, and the host's ritual refusal.

At a spiritual level, the question posed by Posadas has been phrased as, "Are we willing to give shelter within our own hearts to the Coming of the Light of the World?"

At the end of the evening, the children were given a small basket (aguinaldo) filled with peanuts and small sweets. In this context, the aguinaldo is said to symbolize the giving of communion.

Origins of Posadas

Like just about everything else in Mexico, this 424-year old tradition has a long, rich and complex history, beginning with the birthday celebration of Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec sun god, whose birthday falls at the time of the Winter Solstice (December 21).

The birth of the sun god marks the year's shortest day and longest night, when the sun is poised to return, thus again lengthening the days. The birth of Jesus, Light of the World, has similarly been set at this time of longest night, when all is darkest, just before the sun begins its return journey to the north.

Immediately after the Conquest, Cortés petitioned the Spanish king to send monks to evangelize the indigenous peoples. In response, the king sent Franciscan Friars, whose methods were creatively adaptive. Wherever possible, the Friars sought to replace Mesoamerican fiestas with celebrations tied to the liturgical calendar. One such substitution occurred around the birthday celebration of Huitzilopochtli.

Curiously, Mesoamerican traditions included something similar to the piñata. To celebrate the birthday of the Aztec Huitzilopochtli (sun god) at year's end, priests placed a clay pot on a pole in the temple. Colorful feathers adorned the richly decorated pot, filled with tiny treasures. When broken with a stick or club, the treasures fell to the feet of the god's image as an offering.

The Mayans played a game where the player’s eyes were covered while hitting a clay pot suspended by string. The missionaries ingeniously transformed these games for religious instruction. They covered the traditional pot with colored paper, giving it an extraordinary, even an attractive, appearance intended to represent Satan, who tempts the weak.

In 1587, nearly seventy years after the arrival of the Spanish, Fray Diego de Soria celebrated masses that he called 'de aguinaldo' (gratitude or gift given at year's end; in Mexico, the Christmas propina—'bonus'—given to workers is called el aguinaldo).  

Indigenous peoples were not accustomed to being inside buildings, so Fray Diego held his masses in the Atrio (courtyard) of the church for the nine days (December 16-24) before Christmas. The masses featured scenes from the Birth of Jesus.

In the eighteenth century, celebrations of Posadas slowly migrated from the church to the barrios (neighborhoods) and casas (family houses). Over time, popular songs replaced religious music.

Posadas are celebrated throughout the Republic of Mexico—each region contributing its own unique cultural variations—and in Guatemala. Posadas are also celebrated throughout Latin America, as well as within strong Mexican communities in the United States.

Today many Posadas have lost their religious roots. We're curious to learn how they are celebrated in our new urban home, Coyoacán in Mexico City.

Other Christmas posts:

• Mexico Traditions: Pastorelas;
• Mexican Traditions: Posadas;
• Mexico: Urban, Middle-Class Posadas Take on Features of U.S. Culture;
• Christmas.