¡Feliz Navidad! o para algunos, no tan feliz.
Merry Christmas! Or for some of you, not so merry.
We just had our Posada, part of how Christmas is celebrated here in Mexico. (For Catholics, it was also Guadalupe Day.) I did my best to show excitement for the kids, but the Christmas season has been hard for me for a few years. For those who don’t know, my sister passed away a few years ago at age fifteen. She suffered with depression, but every year that December rolled around, she was filled with so much joy. When the snow fell, she lit up along with the Christmas lights. And now that she’s gone, every time December comes, I feel a hole inside of me as I remember her joy. I remember thinking that first year without her, if she had just made it to December, if she had experienced that joy once again… maybe things would have been different. Maybe she would’ve pulled through. I still tear up thinking about this.
So I wanted to write something different. This is a time of celebration, and all of you hear it all the time. I’m sure every other newsletter (and social media post) you’ll read at this time has declarations of cheer and festivity, with photos of how they’re all celebrating. And, yes, you’ll get that from me as well. But before that, I wanted to acknowledge those of you who don’t feel like celebrating. Those of you who, instead of joy, just feel pain at this holiday.
Some of you have toxic families, and gathering with them for holidays is a nightmare. Some of you don’t have families you can gather with, and you’re spending the holidays alone. Some of you have hard conversations, hard decisions to make, or some other form of hardship. And some of you, like me, have lost someone, and you feel that hole more than ever at Christmas time.
I see you. God sees you. The whole world seems to be caught up in the moment, and you feel alone, but you are not. You are seen. You are loved. You are held. And I’m sorry that, in this moment, you don’t feel that. I pray that someday you will.
I know words alone aren’t enough, and I’m not sure what more I can say anyway. But I do have one bit of advice. Take time for yourself to celebrate, to mourn, or to reflect—whatever it is you need. Find time away from the business of the season to just sit with your own thoughts and feelings. Is this a happy time for you? It’s okay if the answer is no. Take time to process, to grieve, to be where you need to be. It’s okay. It’s important. The rest of the world can wait. And, in that quiet place, I hope you hear the voice of God.
If you need to, turn off your phone or computer for a minute before continuing with this newsletter. I’m going to proceed to talk about how we celebrate the Christmas season here in Chiapas, but you don’t need to give yourself whiplash by reading it right now. Take some time to breathe.
Las Posadas
Las Posadas, meaning The Inns, is a celebration meant to remind us of Mary and Joseph’s search for an inn to stay in while she was pregnant. It started, as did many Mexican traditions, with the Catholic colonists attempting to redirect native traditions. The Aztecs had a 20 day festival in December celebrating the return of their god Huitzilopochtli. Since it coincided with the European Christmas tradition, it was easy for them to replace it with something Christian themed. As for what it is today, some people have extra Mass (beginning with a parade for Guadalupe), reenactments of Mary and Joseph looking for an inn (they go to several houses and are “turned away” until they reach the house that’s hosting the Posada), but for others, it’s simply an early Christmas party. Let me show you what ours looked like!
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Chiapas Missions to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.