After the conquest of Mexico in 1521, many European traditions mixed
with Mexican culture creating a new way to celebrate holidays such as
“Día de los Muertos”, and the now traditional Christmas Holiday
celebration called “Posada”. These ‘posadas’, symbolize Joseph and Mary
seeking shelter in Bethlehem. Children carrying small figures of Joseph,
Mary, and the donkey, go from house to house singing songs and asking for shelter;
the residents sing in reply, refusing and saying: “No. There’s no room in the inn!
” But at the last house, the door is opened and everybody sings, “Come in, Holy Pilgrims!”.
The host places the figures of Joseph and Mary on a table and then begins to serve food
and candies for every one. The children and teenagers go to the patio of the house to break
the piñata while singing “I don’t want gold! I don’t want silver! What I want is to break the
