On December 9, 2015 our Spanish Classes learned about the history of Las Posadas, re-enacted Mary & Josephs journey as well as celebrated the breaking of the Piñata! Read on to learn more about Las Posadas, and see a few photos of students breaking the Piñata!

Las Posadas is a nine day celebration with origins in Catholic  Spain, and today is celebrated mostly in Mexico, Central America and in some communities of the Southwestern of the USA. The celebration  begins on December 16 and ends on December 24 during the evenings. The nine day novena represents the nine months of Mary’s pregnancy.

Pedir Posada: This is the representation of the pilgrimage of Mary and Joseph asking for shelter before arriving to Bethlehem.  At each house,  Joseph sings his request for shelter and the residents deny his appeal chanting their denial until Mary and Joseph are finally recognized and allowed to enter. Once the “innkeepers” let them in, the group of guests come into the home and kneel around the Nativity scene and all join in prayer and then there is a party with food and breaking a piñata.

Piñata:  The Catholic interpretation of the piñata centers on the struggle of man against temptation. The seven points in the piñata  represent the seven deadly sins (wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony). Inside the piñata there is ceramic pot that   represents evil and the seasonal fruit and candy inside it are the temptations of evil. A person is blindfolded and is given a stick to break the piñata. This represents faith. Turning around, singing and shouting creates disorientation which represents temptation. In some traditions, the person with the stick is turned around thirty three times, one for each year our Lord’s life. This symbolism of the piñata and its breaking was established for the purpose of teaching elements of the catechism. When the piñata breaks, the treats inside then represent the rewards of keeping the faith.