December in Mexico is a time of bustling commercial activity and holiday social gatherings.
Nevertheless, many people still cling to long-held customs focused on the Christian faith and Biblical accounts about the reason for the Christmas season.
This holds true in Lake Chapala’s shoreline communities, where Las Posadas held on nine consecutive days before December 25 open the door to traditional Navidad festivities.
La Posada (meaning inn or lodging) is a reenactment of the Holy Family’s quest for shelter in Bethlehem, as told in the Gospel of Luke. It’s the way youngsters get a dose of religious instruction washed down with plenty of holiday fun.
Las Posadas trace their roots back to the Colonial era, when they were employed as a method of evangelization by the Franciscan friars, a substitution for Aztec tributes to the sun god Huitzilopochtli held in conjunction with the winter solstice.
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