HENDERSON - A centuries-old Advent tradition made its debut at Holy Name School recently with roughly 300 students from multiple cultures participating.

"This tradition we call it Las Posadas which means the Inn," said Abraham Brown, director of Hispanic ministry for Holy Name Church. "We remember when Mary and Joseph were looking for a place to stay. In that story, Mary and Joseph had to go to Bethlehem to get registered for taxes. Usually, people would host those coming into town. But when Mary and Joseph got to Bethlehem, everything was full. The tradition says they knocked on different places and no one offered them a place to stay.

"We remember (this journey) by going to different places with Mary and Joseph. A little girl is dressed as Mary. A little boy is dressed as Joseph and they have a donkey. They visit three different places and are turned away. The fourth time, a welcoming person recognizes them and says, 'I'm so blessed to see you in my place.' They come in and the party begins."

Celebrated chiefly in Latin America and by Hispanics in the United States, Las Posadas is traditionally celebrated for 9 days, from Dec. 16-24. 

Brown said Las Posadas was brought to Mexico by Franciscan monks in the 16th century.

"There are many songs. Every time they knock on the door, Mary and Joseph sing a song and the innkeepers respond in song," he said.

"At Holy Name School, this is the first year that Las Posadas has been celebrated. I've been helping Senora Susana Solarza, who teaches Spanish. Each of the classes will be singing Christmas carols in Spanish and English. Some of the carols are universal like 'Oh Holy Night.' " The celebration of Las Posadas "brings all the cultures together. We offer the students the opportunity to sing in another language. It's a one-time experience that they keep for life," Brown said.

"The teachers have been so instrumental in teaching the kids what the Hispanic words mean so they aren't just repeating something they don't understand. Overall, in the school, the kids go through that experience to learn to be welcoming."

"When I was a kid and visited my grandma in Mexico, Las Posadas is one of the biggest memories I have. Just imagine closing a street and all members of the family coming out singing and asking for a place to stay," he said. "And once they got to a place where they were invited to stay there was a huge stable full of candy and presents and there were guitars playing. Imagine that for nine days. We do that nine days leading up to Christmas. And nine houses got the opportunity to create a fiesta for the neighborhood -- a big vibrant, colorful party. There was music, colorful pinatas and the kids receive a little bag called Aguinaldo. This bag has candy, fruit, peanuts and baked goods in it. Every kid receives it. Aguinaldo means 'Every goodness I can offer.' Every welcoming house gives these bags. It means these kids are welcome at the house." 

"In America," Brown said, "we do it a little different because we want people to send the message of being welcoming. We have immigrants from all over the world asking for a place to stay."

"This helps us explain how important it is to be welcoming. Because there are people who come to this country from other places and have nothing, but we have something so why not open the doors and invite people to stay."

"Las Posadas reminds us we are a country of immigrants. We open our doors to people. We are a welcoming nation," he said.

Brown said from all appearances, the students at Holy Name have embraced Las Posadas.

"The kids at Holy Name are super excited," he said. "They sing the songs. You don't even have to tell them to sing loud. They just want to participate. They are so into the Christmas spirit that they did understand what they were doing."

For the Hispanic students, especially, Brown said, "They can speak about what they did and feel proud of passing on their heritage. That's the most important part. Latinos want to show that they don't just want to come to this country to receive, but that they have a lot of beautiful traditions that they want to share. It's good for kids to ask their friends to be part of their traditions."

"I believe for Latino kids they can feel proud of being Latino here," Brown said. "Latino kids have to be as American as every other kid at school and as Latino as they can with their family at home. They have two realities. This brings the two worlds together."

Julie Eadens, HNS president, said being part of the Las Posadas experience has been meaningful for the staff and student body.

"This year's incorporation of the Las Posadas tradition profoundly brought the message of Christ home for our students and school family," Eadens said. "The last nine school days leading up to the Las Posadas Christmas Program students learned about the tradition and the plight of Joseph and Mary. The culminating program allowed the students to participate in the tradition and reenactment of Joseph and Mary seeking shelter. The students experience denying shelter to the couple and then later allowing Joseph and Mary in. This reenactment has a deeper meaning for our students as they also realize this represents allowing Christ into our hearts. Incorporating this centuries-old tradition into the activities of the school throughout Advent has brought a new twist to our preparations for Jesus' birth and a new appreciation for our students."  

Middle school teacher Emma Bridges said, “As a social studies teacher it’s cool to see the students rise up to the occasion, embrace and learn about traditions of other cultures.”

Delaney Thompson, an HNS 8th grader said, “It’s interesting to see how they were treated as a pregnant couple in need.”

Julianna Hibbs, also an eighth-grader at Holy Name School said, “(Las Posadas) is inspiring. Because despite everything (Mary and Joseph) were going through, they still believed and were ready to take the challenge.”

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