The joyful, festive procession winding through the streets and related events are a yearly tradition that carry on for nine nights leading up to Christmas Eve.
Residents carry a statue of baby Jesus in the procession of"Niñopan" during a Christmas"posada," which means lodging or shelter, in the Xochimilco borough of Mexico City, Wednesday Dec. 21, 2022. For the past 400 years, residents have held posadas between Dec. 16 and 24, when they take statues of baby Jesus in procession to church for Mass to commemorate Mary and Joseph's cold and difficult journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem in search of shelter.
Some neighbors join in the procession carrying candles. Others wait for it to arrive at the home where the pair playing the holy couple is finally received and the celebration continues. There’s singing, sharing of traditionaland the breaking open of a piñata when the colorful papier-mâché container gives way, spilling candy into the hands of the children waiting in anticipation.
Beside him, two young girls threw confetti to the street as their mother readied her camera to take a picture of the Niñopa. The origin of the Niñopa is unclear, but the life-size wooden figure of a baby in white is believed to be about 450 years old and found after the Spanish conquest. Catholic families in Xochimilco typically keep images of him in their homes.
“Today’s posada was assigned 10 years ago,” Cruz said. “The family that organized the second posada of this season had to wait for 28 years!” This week hundreds of neighbors wearing shiny hats moved alongside the musicians and the dancers, like 14-year-old Miguel Zadquiel, who were leading the procession and propelling the festive spirit. The group of dancers at the head -- known as a “comparsa” – are devoted to a specific image of the infant Jesus. Each member wears a long velvet robe, a big drum-like hat and a mask depicting an old man -- a costume meant to mock the Spanish conquerors.
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