The Posadas Research Paper

Villalba states that, the celebration begins as early as midnight on October 31 because they believe that the gates of heaven open and the deceased children are welcomed back to earth for 24 hours to celebrate with their families. The following day, 2nd of November, “adults come down to enjoy the festivities” (Villalba). Within those two days, there are many expenses and lot of planning for families who celebrate this holiday. They begin with going to the cemeteries where they clean and decorate the tombs of their deceased members. Families then create beautiful ofrendas at their homes, which are alters, with some of the most important decorations such as bright colored marigolds, pan de muerto (bread of the dead), white candles, candy skulls, calacas (skeleton figures), a portrait of the loved one, with a few of their favorite dishes and drinks, and burning copal. “The white candles are lighted up so that the deceased can see their family members around the tomb” (The Day of the Dead in Mexico,2005). These alters require the most expenses, sometimes people even spend months’ worth of savings for this specific date because they believe their posada should be resplendent, just as their beloved ones would want. To end the day, families return to the cemeteries to gather around the tomb of their loved one where

They celebrate Christmas as their ancestors did, which is Posada and the Holy Night. Posada is between December 16th and Holy Night December 24th. Family members and friends act out when St. Joseph and Virgin Mary were looking for lodging. All Mexicans go to church to attend midnight Mass. After the mass the family gathers at home and have a family dinner. Mexican Christmas Eve is all about family, love, sharing, happiness and joy. The children do not receive presents on Christmas Day

Sub-Point 1: According to a magazine named Latino Voices published on December 12, 2013 La Virgen de Guadalupe is the patron saint of Mexico. La Virgen had two apparitions in the year 1531. She first appeared to a poor peasant named Juan Diego on the Tepeyac Hill in December 9, 1531. The second time she reappeared to Juan Diego was on Dec 12 of the same year. This is where she ordered him to collect roses on his Tilmátli. Then for him to take the roses to the priest and to tell him that she wanted a church to be built for her. This story was told in Spanish and the Nahualt language. After 300 years later it became a national holiday in Mexico in the year 1859. The way to celebrate this holiday is by playing “Las Mananitas (birthday song)” to her every year on Dec 12 in the basilica which is also known as the home of la Virgen. Later on January 22, 1999 Pope John Paul II named La Virgen “Our Lady of Guadalupe the Patroness of the

Tamales have the power of merging family. Christmas eve in Mexico means interacting and bonding with the whole family. When the holiday season begins and everybody gathers at Grandmother’s house you can trace the smell of tamales getting cook in the kitchen mixed with the smell of cinnamon. The Christmas tree is bursting with presents and on the side the nativity scene which is always present in a Catholic Mexican family. The table is brimming in flavors, with a variety of dessert and snacks and delicious hot drinks. As appetizing as the table looks the whole family is barely touching the food because the tamales are almost ready and everybody wants to eat as many tamales as possible. When the tamales are ready it means that Christmas Eve celebration is staring. Everyone from the oldest in the house to the youngest gets a plate and eats as many tamales as possible while sharing stories and laughs. The tamales are the main guest of the celebration. The tamales are a traditional Mexican food that can be traced to the Aztecs. The word tamale comes from the Aztec word tamalii which means wrapped food. The Aztec women would cook the tamales for the soldiers because they were easy to carry and eat. Today making tamales is a bonding event for all the women in the family,

The Catholics celebrate this holiday by going to a midnight mass service on Christmas Eve called the 'Misa De Gallo' or the mass of the rooster. The tradition of Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, was first witnessed by a Galician woman named Egeria, who went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land (381 AC). She witnessed how the early Christians honored the birth of Jesus with a midnight vigil at Bethlehem, followed by a procession that ended at dawn, when roosters crow. This tradition

My family ritual is that we celebrate Dia de Los Tres Reyes Magos, translating to the Epiphany in English, every year either by ourselves or with family friends. We celebrate the Three Kings arriving to visit the baby Jesus and present gifts to him. To me, this holiday is better than Christmas. Why? The night before the holiday, I put my shoe out in a visible area and sometimes even put a bowl of oatmeal next to it. On the day of the holiday, I wake up to my shoe overflowing with presents and all the oatmeal gone. The belief behind this is that the Three Kings visited my house and left presents. The oatmeal was for the camels because I cared about the King’s camels getting enough food to travel and leave presents for everyone as they did for

Hinduism is known as the world's oldest religion. According to ISKCON Educational Services (2004), it is hard to construct a timeline because Hinduism has no identifiable human founder or specific origin in history. It is so old that its past goes into pre-history. It is extremely diverse with the Hindu people being more interested in the meaning of events than in providing first hand records. There is also no clear-cut divide between history and myth.

Similar to how Grande writes about las posadas in her selection, it is a festivity she celebrates during Christmas time with her fellow people. The reenactments of Mary and Joseph's journey is part of the yearly tradition, which takes place in Grande's country. The food described in Grande's selection like tamales and buñuelos gives an idea of what is normally eaten in special occasions like Christmas. Piñatas are also incorporated into this culture, where children get to break it and eat the candy. Likewise, the goodie bags portrayed in the selection is the best part of the posada for children, which continues to be part of their tradition.

Sacajawea is a well-known American-Indian woman. Her expedition with explorers Lewis and Clark was extraordinary. She was born in Tendoy, Idaho around 1788. She was a member of the Lemhi Shoshone tribe. At this time, the American territory ended at the Mississippi River. One year after the Louisiana Purchase, President Thomas Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark on an expedition that left from St. Louis, Missouri, traveling through the US Northwest, to the Pacific Ocean (History).

they went, but we do know they built roads. They didn't have wheels nor pack

Shantessa Pama (cousin) born on March 5 is a retired American elite gymnast who grew up in Kailua,Kona Hawaii. She started her education at kahakai elementary until she was about 8 years old she is now a residence of Dana Point California where she continued her education at Dana Hills High School and graduated in 2009. Shantessa quotes “I missed home a lot when I moved but there was no competition here for me I was no longer allowed to compete here and gymnastics was my passion. I wanted to turn gymnastics into my career”. Shantessa Pama was one of the only 2 female gymnast to complete a triple tuck dismount but the first to complete it at the age 13.

When thinking about Hispanic parties, most people think of piñatas, traditional hollow papier-mâché creations filled with candy. Each child at the party is blindfolded and given a stick to try and break the piñata, spilling the candy onto the ground for all the children to collect (Explore Hispanic Culture, 2012). However, researchers believe this tradition extends back to Mayan times, where clay pots filled with gifts were broken open and considered to be favors from the gods (EHC, 2012).

An important tradition is Posadas, occurring 9 days preceding Christmas. The celebration is in preparation for baby Jesus and a reenactment of the journey of Mary and Joseph. Each night the celebration takes place at a different house. The festivities include praying with the rosary, singing, re-enacting asking for lodging, and concludes with food and a celebration. The figures for the Posadas were passed down from Maria’s great grandparents Josefa and Miguel. The original festivities have been getting gradually passed down to Maria and her siblings, they take turns hosting a night of Posadas which are assigned on a first come first served basis. These traditions are slowly being passed down to the nieces and nephews as Maria and her siblings grow older. Popular foods served are bunuelos (similar to an elephant ear with homemade syrup), sopas (little corn tortillas with sauce topped with meat), and tamales on Christmas Eve made with chicken and

Nochebuena is celebrated by a traditional dinner with family and friends occurring after Christmas Mass. It is common tradition to begin this meal with a seafood dish followed by a bowl of homemade soup. This meal is traditionally followed by eating a desert of turron, which is a type of almond candy. Navidad is celebrated by attending church, and having feasts. A unique Spanish tradition is that there are special swing sets put up especially for Navidad. Children commonly swing on these for hours at a time

The annual December ceremony, when the “birthdays” of all children are celebrated. This is a ritual full of rites of passage. As the kids grow older, these rights allow them more responsibility. At eight for example they are given pockets and they take away their stuffed animals.