Church to hold its first posada of the Christmas season

Jennifer Kho

St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church in Costa Mesa will put on

its first posada of the year at 6 p.m. Sunday to celebrate the Christmas

season.

The posada, a Catholic celebration commemorating Mary and Joseph’s

journey into Bethlehem, is a nine-day affair. The first ceremony will

take place at 9631 Cornwall Drive, Huntington Beach.

Each day’s celebration leading up to Christmas will be held at a

different parishioner’s home, but the other locations have not yet been

announced.

The posada, which means “inn” in Spanish, is a holiday tradition

celebrated in parts of Latin America with a procession that stops at

homes throughout the neighborhood.

The congregation of the Costa Mesa church will reenact Mary and Joseph

knocking on doors within the house and residents agreeing to take them

in.

“We’ll celebrate with songs, prayers, pinatas and treats such as

tamales or candies, “ said Maggie Garcia, receptionist for the church.

“It is a big tradition in Mexico, especially in small towns where all of

the community is involved. People go door to door because the streets are

smaller and the houses are closer together.”

The church began its posadas in 1995, when Father Bruce Patterson --

the first of the church’s priests to speak Spanish -- joined the church,

she said.

The church’s first posada was mostly attended by Latinos, but it has

since expanded into a multicultural event, Garcia said.

“There’s spirit in the ceremony, and that’s what people need: spirit

during the season, especially now that everything else we have is so

commercialized,” she said. “Everyone needs spiritual inspiration, not

just Hispanics, and they find that in these posadas. It’s a fellowship of

everybody getting together and celebrating spiritual customs.”