Las Posadas

One of my favorite childhood memories was that of Las Posadas. Every year in December, two weeks prior to Christmas, for one entire week we would do Las Posadas.

Las Posadas was the enactment of Joseph & Mary's travels in trying to find lodging. Fond memories of walking all around the neighborhood in a procession of people with candles. Everyone sang, recited the rosary and prayed. We would stop in front of at least a dozen homes and sing some more before entering their home.

What followed was my favorite part of Las Posadas, the eating. We would walk into a spread of everything great about being Mexican...tamales, pan dulce, capirotada (Mexican bread pudding), horchata, atole (porridge drink) and my favorite the chocolate version of atole - champurrada. Both atole and champurrada are made with masa & harina (corn dough & flour). After several homes worth of eating I felt like the albondiga I was as a kid. Between the tamales & champurrada, I was in culinary heaven.

The eating was great but this event brought the neighbors into one solid community. I would rub shoulders with abuelos, abuelas, tios, tias, etc. Most satisfying, was that I got to walk around the neighborhood with my abuelita.

What I loved about my Abuelita & Mama, was that they were resilient and strong women that always held out hope in the hardest of times. They constantly pounded into me to live my life unselfishly and think of others before myself. Gracias.

Las Posadas was all about relationship, relationships in our life, and the Hope given to us from above.