Posadas and Other Holiday Fun
(Originally posted January 2018)
The holidays are a busy time with traditions and celebrations. People come together to spend time, eat and drink and celebrate the friends, families and communities that shape their lives. In Mexico, the month of December is filled with posadas, gatherings of the various factions of our daily lives. Children have posadas with their classmates, adults with their friends and work families, the different groups and associations we belong to. It’s a busy season but a fun-filled month celebrating community. The word posada means inn or shelter and the ritual originates from the Mexican tradition of reenacting the Catholic christmas story of Mary and Joseph seeking refuge in the Nativity story. Our neighbors held a real posada outside their home, singing back and forth from the group outside (the holy family or the pilgrims) to the people inside (the innkeeper) Each group takes turns singing verses to each other and eventually the “innkeepers” open the door for the visitors to come inside for the celebration. The rest of these posadas, the ones I actually participated in however, were just parties, without the reenactment. Happy Holidays!
ASFG Staff Posada
Each year our school throws an enormous party for the staff. The magnitude of this event blows me away after years of the classic holiday potluck at work in the states. The mere fact that I wore a dress on this evening shows that it’s a special affair. This year we dressed up and had a pre-posada party at Emily and Kort’s before continuing to the hotel for the main celebration. We took photos, ate a catered sit-down dinner, and enjoyed an open bar and a lively dance floor late into the night.
Sprint Gym Posada
The next night, after the ASFG posada, we celebrated with our fitness community by attending the posada at Sprint, the gym. All the people I normally see sweaty and huffing and puffing, were decked out in fashionable clothing, primped hair, makeup. Turns out our gym crowd cleans up quite nicely. We snacked on buñuelos and tamales and enjoyed beverages not usually consumed in our fitness gym routine.
ASFG School Community Posada
One Wednesday evening in December, the ASFG school community gathered for a festive evening on campus. The choir sang in several languages, children played games and sat on Santa’s lap. Families and staff snacked on tamales, buñuelos and ponche. Buñuelos are a holiday treat made with crispy fried dough and covered with sugar. It’s probably best they’re only served once a year because I would eat way too many.
My students used the posada to further their service learning project to support the FM4 Paso Libre. They made “God’s eyes” or “Ojos de Dios” to sell for a small profit and also created a stand to teach younger children the craft. Between selling their crafts and the money they earned at the “Make-and-take” stand, they earn over $500 pesos. Well done, kids!
FM4 Posada
The group of volunteers and staff from the FM4 gathered to celebrate another successful year at the shelter for migrants and refugees. It’s been a busy year; a full year of operating as a 24-hour facility. One Saturday night we celebrated together, volunteers from all different shifts, with tacos and tequila. The director of the FM4, Alonso, gave a speech, cheersing to a great year, toasting with wine, and thanking everyone for their continued support of “the house that keeps dreams alive.” We chatted, ate, drank and danced all evening. In keeping with the tradition of last year’s posada when Nimsi and I decided to travel to Cuba, we toasted to upcoming travel plans to Colombia with Nimsi, Caro and Ale for two weeks in the spring.
Book Club Posada
Even our book club has a posada! We ended our year with a fancy dinner out with the ladies at Cornellio’s. Each person brought a book for a white elephant style swap and we voted on the books we will read in the upcoming year in our group.
From Jalisco to Wisconsin
Our last day of school was a relaxed day with the remaining children, those that didn’t leave early for the holiday break. We curled up on the bean bags, watched the movie “Coco” and ate popcorn until we were officially on vacation. The next morning, I boarded a 6:00am flight to Madison and by the afternoon I was home and staying warm by the fireside. I spent two weeks back in the Midwest, splitting the time between Wisconsin and Minnesota, trying to stay warm in the below zero temperatures.
Wisconsin Family Christmas
We joined the Bores family in Steven’s Point for an evening with the extended family. In keeping with tradition, we ate ham and scalloped potatoes and snacked on endless variety of homemade candies and cookies. The youngest grandchildren and great-grandchildren ran around with foam swords while the adults sat around and chatted. In the morning, I enjoyed a couple of games of “Hand and Foot” with my mom and aunts.
The next day, my dad and I left for Green Bay and our seventh annual father/daughter Packer game. I bundled up for this game to the fullest; four pairs of pants, winter boots with electric socks and hand-warming packets in my gloves and between the layers. The temperature at the start of the game was the coldest on record in the last four years. It’s worth it to spend the day with my dad and to see the Packers, even if this season has been a bit rough.
Also while in Madison, I enjoyed some time with Melanie and her son and went out to logrolling with Shana. It’s been a few years but I hopped right up and started to get the hang of it again. In one match, I skinned my shin when I fell in; classic logrolling souvenir. I spent time with Ellen and Rodrigo when they came to Madison to see Sara, Terry and me for an overnight visit.
Minnesota
I pulled up the Haley and Mike’s in St. Paul after a six hour, white-knuckle drive through the blowing snow and ice. I caught up with the college friends before heading over to Uptown where I stayed with Nicole at the Fremont. We attempted to stay warm drinking hot tea, playing cribbage, having friends over for dinner and drinks and enjoying the time catching up. We spent three hours one morning on video call with Danielle in Germany and all the girls in Minnesota while planning some summer travels. A trip to Minnesota wouldn’t be complete without a shopping trip at the outlet malls with Amanda and Christian. Often while in Minneapolis, I catch up with friends over food or drinks; brunch with Erica and Rachel, beer with Brandon, the Lowry with Robin, Roat Osha with Lizz, and brunch with my cousins Jeff and Michael from the Bores family. With perfect luck of timing, I also had a chance to spend an evening with Maria, in town from Costa Rica for the holidays.
After a fun-filled two weeks, I’m back in Guadalajara. It’s great to see all the wonderful friends and family back home, but I don’t miss that cold weather one bit.
