The Virgin and the Baby that Wasn't Born in December

     Yeah, I know, what a way to ruin Christmas by pointing out that Jesus really wasn't born in December.  But in a country as Catholic as México, nobody is really going to care.  Besides, Christmas here lasts almost until the month people think Jesus was born (March).  More about February 12th and why you don't want to eat your cake and get Baby Jesus later.  

The holiday  decorations started showing up around November 15th, and by Dec. 1st the poinsettias (nochebuenas) were out in full force.  People have lined the roads with their stands of piñatas and poinsettias, and I've been impressed by the variations in both products.  The poinsettias are mostly red, but I've also seen the white-flecked and green-flecked ones.  The piñatas range from HUGE to tiny, and I have to resist the temptation to buy one of each

 size.    

      On December 12th, pilgrims flocked to the Virgin of Guadalupe Basilica in Mexico City - many started some days earlier, walking or crawling.   The expression of faith was moving - so much energy towards one entity cannot be ignored. The Virgin of Guadalupe was proclaimed the Patroness of the Americas by Pope John Paul II in 1999, and the miracle of her image has been unexplained by modern science.  More info at: Our Lady of Guadalupe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

      December 16th saw the start of the posadas, the very Mexican tradition that sprung from the combination of Aztec traditions of music, dance, and public religious events and the Catholic zeal to save souls.  Franciscan priests discovered that the local population liked to participate in the pastorelas, or religious plays, and from that the posadas, or the physical recreation of the journey of the Holy Family, became a common practice.  The posadas last until December 24th, which is the big day of the Christmas celebration.  Right now I can hear a posada party rockin' down the street - after the traditional call-and-response song, the posada recipients receive food from the host, and then the kids get to whack at piñatas.  

    I'll be spending Christmas in Oaxaca, with some friends who are trading the snowy Northwest for 75/80 degree Oaxaca weather.  One of the highlights will be December 23rd's Noche de los Rábanos, or the night of the radishes.  Not only can you eat them, but in Oaxaca you can grow huge ones and carve them.  I'll be sure to document the night thoroughly.