A Tradition Is Well-Received : Carolers Stage Las Posadas in Fullerton

Holding candles and singing in Spanish, about 350 Christmas carolers on Wednesday staged the city’s third annual Las Posadas, a traditional depiction of Mary and Joseph’s search for shelter on the eve of Jesus’ birth.

Child actors portraying Mary and Joseph and the carolers knocked on the doors of four homes seeking shelter.

“En el nombre del cielo, yo os pido posada (In the name of heaven, I ask for shelter),” the group sang at one home.

“Aqui no es meson. Sigan adelante (This is not an inn. Be on your way),” responded Susie Moreno, one of the homeowners. Four times, the carolers were turned away.

After about an hour’s journey down Valencia, Pomona and Rosslynn avenues, the procession was welcomed into the Maple Senior Multi-Service Center, which had been turned into a manger for the festivity.

“Entren santos. . . . Reciban esta mansion, que aunque es pobre, os la doy de corazon (Come in saints. . . . Enter this mansion, that even though it is humble, I offer it with my heart),” sang Eloisa Espinoza, a city spokeswoman and event organizer, at the entrance of the Maple center.

There the carolers were treated to special Mexican sweet bread and hot chocolate and began the celebration of the birth of Christ. They also sang Christmas carols and watched Aztec dancers and the Chicano Poet Society perform. The children, about 60 of whom live in the neighborhood, wore colorful Mexican outfits and carried staffs.

Las Posadas is a series of processions traditionally staged in Mexico and other Latin American countries Dec. 16 through 24, marking the nine days Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem.

“This reminds us of our culture and traditions in Mexico,” Espinoza said.

Maria de la Luz (Lucy Ruiz) Milan, a community volunteer who persuaded the city to stage Las Posadas for the first time in 1992, said it is “an important tradition that we must carry on so our children will pass it on to their children. It teaches the true meaning of Christmas. The children must realize that Christmas is about the birth of Christ, not Santa Claus. We should never forget that.”

Mireya Savinon, 13, agreed.

“I love Las Posadas because it comes from Mexico, the land where I was born, and it makes me proud. It’s a beautiful tradition that should (take place) everywhere.”

Las Posadas will be staged in various neighborhoods, some beginning with special Christmas Masses at Catholic churches throughout Orange County.

Dates, times and locations include: St. Boniface Church, 120 N. Janss St. in Anaheim, at 5 p.m. Saturday; Iglesia Catolica de San Joaquin, 1964 Orange Ave. in Costa Mesa, at 7 p.m. Friday through Dec. 23; Bowers Museum, 2002 N. Main St. in Santa Ana, at 5:30 p.m. Sunday; Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe, 541 E. Central Ave. in Santa Ana, at 6:45 p.m. Friday through Dec. 24; Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe, 322 E. 3rd St. in Santa Ana, at 7 p.m. Friday through Dec. 23; Nuestra Senora del Pilar, 1622 W. 6th St. in Santa Ana, at 7 p.m. Friday through Dec. 23; and Serra Chapel, at El Camino Real and Ortega Highway in San Juan Capistrano, at 6 p.m. Friday.