Christmas in San Lucas

It is always bit strange to spend Christmas away from home, especially when you are living in a place without snow, department store displays, ice skating rinks, and all the other accoutrement that is associated with Christmastime back in the U.S.  However, Christmas is San Lucas this year proved to be quite enjoyable, and the holiday spirit permeated the town just as much as it would back home, just in a slightly different way.

            The Christmas season kicked off with a yearly tradition celebrated by nearly everyone in the community, the Posada. The tradition of the Posadas, initiated in Guatemala by the saint Hermano Pedro de San José Betancur in the city of Antigua in the 16^th century, has grown so large in San Lucas that there are now three separate Posadas performed each year in order to include as many families as possible.   Each night from the 16^th until the 24^th of December, families and friends gather at 7 p.m. to carry the Santos Peregrinos (wandering saints), who represent Mary and Joseph, reenacting their journey from Galilee to Bethlehem as they prepare for the birth of Jesus.  Each of the nine nights represents a month of Mary’s pregnancy, and reflects the urgency with which Mary and Joseph searched for an inn in which they could find posada (hospitality), for Mary to give birth.

Each night the group travels to a different home in the town, singing and playing music as they walk.  When the group arrives at the house, they stand outside the door and sing a song asking the family inside to let Mary and Joseph spend the night.  The family initially responds with a resounding “no,” but after additional verses, the two groups exchange blessings and the door is opened to the wanderers outside.  Once inside, prayers and petitions are offered up, and after a prayerful fifteen minutes, the group bursts out into joyful chatter as hot coffee or punch is passed around and trays of tamales or tostadas are shared.  The group of families and friends take the time to talk to each other and share stories and blessings until late into the evening.  After saying his or her goodbyes, everyone is reminded to return the following night to continue the journey to the next house.  This pattern is repeated until the 24^th of December, when all of the three independent Posadas in town come together to end at the Parish with a 10 p.m. Mass.

            Christmas Eve also brings the tradition of bombas and cuetes, oftentimes-handmade fireworks that are set off all around the lake at midnight.  After mass let out and we enjoyed hot caliente, a punch made of cinnamon and various fruits and juices, we headed to the roof of a house to watch the show.  The event was kicked off when a group of children wearing various costumes and masks came dancing up the path to the church, setting off fireworks and setting fire to piles of trash and brush prepared alongside the path.  Several older kids wore large hats equipped with built-in fireworks that they lit and set off.  After 15 unsafe minutes of this, midnight rolled around and the real fireworks started.  It seemed as if every single family in town set off about a dozen fireworks, which could be seen all across the lake.  By the time the show had finished, you could barely see ten feet ahead through the thick smoke.  

            On Christmas Day, my roommates and I had a small gift exchange by our decorated Christmas Cactus and drank hot chocolate (which we made special with real milk, which we rarely have) while we watched a Christmas movie.  Later in the day we had a holiday feast at the parish with ham, chicken, cookies, potatoes, and stuffing.  Although life has quickly returned to normal and the weather gets hotter every day, for a few days San Lucas felt like a Christmas Winter Wonderland.