Instead of a Christmas Tree....

Instead of a Christmas Tree, Mexicans celebrate  the birth of Jesus with a nativity diorama in their homes, businesses and churches. I've seen them before made with some live vegetation and moss but gradually I'm seeing them decorate the vegetation as we would in the US with Christmas lights and glass balls. This manger was in the Monjas church. I was in the church for quite a while and these two little girls were standing in front of the diorama pointing and whispering to each other. I was kind of waiting for them to move on and then it dawned on me that they "made" the picture.

Since before Christmas I've been trying to go to all the churches to photograph their nativity scenes but most of the time I've been in town and ready to photograph there was a Mass going on. Today I thought that finally I'd get in the Parroquia because from what I can see from the back of the church it looks like they have a colorful and twinkly scene. Nope. The main floor of the church was decorated with white roses and roped off in anticipation of a wedding. I'll have to go back again. I'll also have to go back to the San Juan de Dios Church. The doors were closed. Although the doors of the churches in the Centro are almost always open, the San Antonio and the San Juan churches are closed except when there are services going on.

This nativity scene was in the San Juan de Dios Mercado. Actually there were two nativity scenes in the Mercado. In both of them the baby Jesus was disproportionately large for the other figures in the scene but then he is the principal character.

While I was at the Mercado I checked to see if any of the stands were set up to sell toys and candies for Mom's and Dad's to buy presents for their children for Three King's Day. Not yet so I will go back.

I love the Nativity scenes. So appropriate for remembering the reason for Christmas.

The Posada Across the Street

In the last post I was a little sad that I had not seen a neighborhood Posada. Oh, the Posada led by the San Antonio Church was wonderful but there is something very special to me when it is a grassroots event. Ask and ye shall receive.

Last night just as Carly and I were getting ready to go to bed, I heard singing in the street. We flew back to the upstairs studio to get the camera and when I looked out the window, there was the Posada knocking on the door across the street asking to come in. I was afraid that by the time I got the camera and got outside that they would have moved on so I decided to shoot from the window.

It was a good decision because just after I took this picture, the door opened and this was the house that gave Mary and Joseph room in the stable. The little house is about 10 feet wide but still all the people who had been in the street, maybe 75 or 100 people, followed Mary and Joseph into the house. I love the small bouquets. I love the candles. I love the kids lighting sparklers. I love the music. I love celebrating Christmas in such an intimate way. How blessed I am that it all happened in the street by my house.

My Neighborhood Posada

Last week I loaded up the camera with a new battery and the lens I thought I'd use, plus I had a wider angle lens right beside it for quick pickup. I wanted to be ready when I heard the music outside that signaled the neighborhood Posada. The Posadas are held during the nine days before Christmas and are a recreation of Mary and Joseph looking for a place to stay. There is a traditional song that the children sing at each stop along the way asking for a room for Mary and Joseph.

In the past we have had some very elaborate Posadas around my street with Mary on a donkey, a band, and everyone walking with candles. When Mary and Joseph finally find a place to stay and all the prayers are said, piñatas are strung across the street and the children have a great time whacking at it until finally it is broken and candy falls. There are usually traditional foods and ponche and bags of oranges and goodies for everyone.

If that happened on my street this year, I missed it but last night I did hear a group singing in the street. I grabbed a jacket and my camera and headed out. It was a large group that was lead by the same truck that usually leads processions from the San Antonio Church. There was a keyboard in the bed of the truck and someone was leading the music interspersed with readings and prayers from the priest. This time there were statues of Mary and Joseph carried by some of the women, not a "real" Mary on a "real" donkey. And there were not any candles. I followed along for a way until I was sure that they were headed to the San Antonio Church then I headed back home. I hope that when they got to the plaza in front of the church that there are piñatas, ponche and food for everyone.

I hope that the wonderful posadas in the little neighborhoods in the Colonia are still happening and I just missed the one on my street this year.

The Virgin of Guadalupe

 

Every year on December 12, the San Antonio Church in my Colonia is the destination of a procession in honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe. I have not been here for it for several years but I'm here this year and headed over to the church. The procession comes up Salida a Celaya and the line stretched back as far as I could see. They are carrying their pictures and statutes of the Virgin to be blessed. There is also a big contingent of people on horseback with banners honoring the Virgin.

 

One thing I didn't see this year were people who came long distances on their knees. The one exception to that was while I was sitting in the church before the procession, one woman came up the aisle of the church on her knees, prayed for a few minutes and then left.

 

With the celebration of the Virgin of Guadalupe it is like the Christmas Season has officially begun. Next it will be the posadas. It is a good time for me and my camera. 

 

 

Christmas in August?



Nope, this is not a picture from 2013. I shot this at Costco last week, August 28, 2014. It is a good four months until Christmas! Okay so maybe the retailers want to encourage us to purchase our Christmas decorations now so that in November we will have more money to spend on gifts. There were two aisles of Christmas stuff. And some of that stuff isn't even a part of the way that Mexico traditionally celebrates Christmas. It isn't suppose to be Santa bearing gifts! In Mexico the three wise men bring the children gifts.

Other than my irritation with the Christmas stuff, the trip to Costco was good. I love the independence that I have with Lola. If the housekeeper tells me on Tuesday that she is low on some cleaning product, I can plan a trip the next day and have her a new "five-gallon bottle" when she comes again on Thursday. I also like being able to drive to Mega when I want grapefruits, a melon, a bag of sugar.....you know the heavy stuff. Then it is a pleasure to shop in the mercados for the daily vegetables that I need.

Back to the Christmas thing. I'm sure that Costco in the US is already stocking their aisles with Christmas stuff as well. But it is too damn early in my opinion. We have other celebrations before Christmas: The San Miguel Festival at the end of September, Day of the Dead at the end of October and for me, a trip to Texas to see family and celebrate Thanksgiving. Christmas in August? No thanks. I'll wait until December.

I'm Back

Just in case you wondered what happened. Why no blogging? I've been to Texas and back. It has been an interesting month. Not like most of my Christmas Past but that is okay. Things change. The worst thing about the trip was the weather. It was dreary, windy, rainy and cold most days. Then I come back to San Miguel and it has been dreary, windy, rainy and cold. What's up with the drizzly rain in December in San Miguel?

I had planned to spend five days in Port Aransas working on my Mercer Log project and some friends were going to be there as well so I was really looking forward to it. With a weather forecast of 12 to 20 mile an hour wind and some rain, the friends backed out. I backed out except for two days when I had some appointments that would keep me inside.

I shopped, had lunches and dinners with friends and saw as many movies as I could. At this point I think the best movie I saw was Nebraska but I also like Dallas Buyers Club. American Hustle was a good movie. Twelve Years a Slave was ten years too long. Judith Dench in Philomena gave another one of her great performances. The Coen Brothers latest movie, Inside Llewyn Davis was a downer. The Book Thief followed the book and looked like it was made on a theater set. I still have a lot more movies I want to see before the Academy Awards ceremony.

I went to Austin and saw my grandsons and I planned to go back for Christmas Eve until I came down with a cold/sinus thing. I wasn't bedridden but I couldn't expose my Daughter-in-Law who is in the middle of chemo for breast cancer. I really, really missed being with them. Well, there is always next year.

Mike and family went skiing for the holidays so Christmas Dinner was at my Sister-in-law's house. It was so wonderful to be with them.

Now I'm home. Celebrated another birthday last night with friends who arranged a special dinner at Frienze's. Wow! We had oysters prepared two ways, a pumpkin ginger soup, watercress salad, seared scallops on a bed of pecan rice and a lovely chocolate dessert. The dinner was special and so are the friends. That is Sam and me in the photo but Bob, Tom and Linda were there as well.