Proceeding With Holiday Tradition : Religion: Latinos participate in <i> las posadas,</i> a symbolic re-enactment of Joseph and Mary’s search for shelter. The event combines elements of mystery and joy.

On a blustery December night, old and young gathered in front of a home on Mott Street in San Fernando, bundled against the chill. Someone knocked on the door, and the group began to sing:

En el nombre del cielo

Os pido posada.

(In the name of heaven.

I ask for shelter.)

From inside, voices sang back:

Aqui no es meson.

Sigan adelante.

(This is no inn.

Be on your way.)

And so goes the exchange in song in the Latino Christmas tradition of las posadas, a symbolic re-enactment of Joseph and Mary’s search for shelter in anticipation of the birth of the Christ child.

The group of parishioners from Santa Rosa Catholic Church, carrying statues of Mary and Joseph, stopped at other homes, meeting similar rejection. Finally, back at the church hall, a door was opened in hospitality, and the festivities, including the

breaking of a pinata, began in celebration of the birth of Christ.

Although las posadas are celebrated throughout Latin America, they have come to be most closely associated with Mexico. The tradition is as old as the city of Los Angeles, with posadas having been celebrated at downtown’s La Placita church since its founding in 1781.

“Latinos enjoy the whole concept of celebration and faith,” said Father Pedro Villarroya, C.M., who heads the office of Hispanic Ministry for the Los Angeles Roman Catholic Archdiocese. “If some of the deep religious feelings have been lost, it still remains a family celebration.”

That combination of mystery and joy was clearly present for Nelida Godinez, 8, of Pacoima, at Mary Immaculate Catholic Church in Pacoima earlier this week, where six

of nine Masses on Sunday are conducted in Spanish.

Nelida was experiencing her first posada . She did not know the words to the songs, but she beamed as she led the procession, which was held on church grounds.

Children carried an altar with a statue of Joseph and Mary and stepped outside the church doors surrounded by others. They would knock on the door, sing their songs, and then move on to other doors until finally, in a ritual of acceptance and hospitality, they were allowed to enter.

Later, Nelida was still smiling from the experience even though she could not articulate her feelings, simply saying “yes” she enjoyed it, and “no” she did not feel the cold.

“She wants to keep coming back,” said Nelida’s mother, Marisela Godinez, who moved here three years ago from the Mexican state of Colima. “I’ve been to posadas in Mexico, but this was really beautiful.”

“It reminds me of my childhood,” said Enrica Moreno, who moved to Pacoima from Durango, Mexico, 20 years ago, as she walked with the group. “ Posadas allow adults to relive their childhoods.”

At Santa Rosa, where 7 of the 9 Sunday Masses are in Spanish, parishioners began celebrating posadas on Dec. 16. Each night, following a Mass, the procession wound past homes on nearby streets, ending at the church, where a pinata was brought out for the children to break.

After two futile attempts, a blindfolded child knocked the donkey pinata to the floor. One boy quickly swooped down on the fallen figure and tried to run away with all the goodies.

But one parent intervened, tearing what remained of the pinata, and scattering the contents to the scrambling children.

“It’s a tradition,” said Dinora Gonzalez, as she watched the children stuff candies into their mouths and pockets. “I’m from El Salvador and we don’t celebrate it like this. But my husband is Mexican and we want our children to become familiar with the tradition.”

The pinata has become symbolic of Mexican celebrations, but it, too, has religious connotations. According to church officials, the breaking of the pinata symbolizes the birth of Christ. According to another version, the pinata represents sin, and the person striking it represents faith. The candies and other goodies are the reward for faith having overcome sin.

The roots of the posadas remain religious. Villarroya said the custom can be traced back to the 16th Century, when Augustine monks went from convent to convent for prayers. When the monks came to the New World, they used the custom to teach the story of Christ.

Traditionally, posadas extend over nine days, beginning Dec. 16 through Christmas Eve, which is called la Noche Buena . One theory holds that the nine days represent the nine months that the Virgin Mary--the patron saint of Mexico--was pregnant, but most church officials agree that the number of days are more likely tied to novenas , the practice of devotion and prayer over nine days.

In some parts of Mexico where the weather is still warm in December, people walk from home to home in their neighborhoods singing the various verses of the posada songs, and then gather at one of the homes for the celebration.

But in the San Fernando Valley, where 28% of the public claims the Roman Catholic faith, cold weather and dangerous streets often limit the celebration to fewer days than the traditional nine, and to church buildings.

But wherever in the Western world las posadas is celebrated, the finale is the food.

In the Valley, it is bunuelos (deep-fried sweet tortilla-like breads), pan dulce (Mexican pastries) and champurrado , a hot chocolate-like drink.

Tamales--which are like dumplings filled with pork, beef, chicken or green chiles, cheese and corn and wrapped in cornhusks--have become a part of the traditional Christmastime meal.

While many families still gather to make tamales at home, an increasing number forgo the often arduous process and simply buy them.

At Carrillo’s Tortilleria, which has operated in San Fernando since 1948, extra help is hired in December to fill orders for thousands of tamales.

Steven Carrillo, 34, who is the third generation in the business, said that nearly 20,000 tamales will be sold this month in five stores. More than half of those are scheduled to be picked up on Christmas Eve.