Christmas

Posadas

This week we’re participating in the Posadas here in town. It’s a little like Christmas caroling, but there’s more to it. Every evening from the 16th through the 23rd of December, people from town gather and march through the streets, singing of Mary and Joseph’s journey and stopping at various houses asking if there’s room for them to stay. There are also displays along the way, typically with kids posing as angels or shepherds waiting for Jesus’ arrival. At each stop along the way the crowd is turned down, until they get to the last house. The last house welcomes everyone in and provides traditional treats for everyone. Each evening the route changes, leading to a different part of the neighborhood.

On Wednesday, our house, along with several neighbors’ were the final stop. There’s been well over 100 people participating each day, so it’s pretty fun.

Setting up in front of one of the houses
Many of the displays have live actors

I’m trying my first video post today. I can’t do it directly on the blog, but you can see it on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/7xnowoMfqWo. If you listen closely you can hear me describing what’s going on. I didn’t want to speak too loudly and disturb the crowd. Same with the lighting – it’s dark, but it gives you the spirit of the event. (Note that at one point in the video I say “Jesus and Mary”, but meant to say Joseph and Mary.)

Amazing and Unique Craft Fair

As you drive through Mexico you will pass through many small towns where they specialize in a particular type of artisanship – woodworking, pottery, weaving, stone carvings, etc.

We read an article online about a town* known for making glass Christmas ornaments, painted by hand. It would normally be out of the way for us, but when we planned a trip to Mexico City it was right along our route. And the timing was good, since we were traveling in December. *Try to pronounce the name of the town: Tlalpujahua (Tlal-pu-ha-wa).

We were very impressed with the workmanship of the ornaments. And apparently many others are, too. The traffic getting into town was crazy. You don’t generally find traffic like this in the small towns. And then when we got into the main auditorium where the ornaments were being displayed and sold, it was difficult to walk through due to the large crowds.

This photo doesn’t give a complete sense of the crowds, but it is what the inside of the auditorium looked like.

Many stalls full of ornaments

Outside, additional small vendors were selling ornaments, as well as other crafts and foods:

Outside the ornament marketplace

No two ornaments are exactly alike, since they are hand painted. And if they don’t have exactly what you want, they’ll make what you want. Here are some samples:

Before continuing our journey to Mexico City we ate lunch at one of the stands in town. Tacos for both of us plus one soda to share cost about $3.80 US, including tip.