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 Our Lady of Guadalupe invites the community for a Christmas Posada for an early celebration of Christmas and a series of different activities. 

A posada is a traditional Latin American celebration done around the Christmas season as a celebration of the Christmas story of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph’s search for a place to stay where Jesus could be born.

The original story involves Mary and Joseph knocking on three doors before finding a place to stay, which will be reenacted at the event by knocking on the doors of the church.

The event is hosted by the Young Adult Group, a section of the church focused on 20 to 30-year-olds who have a passion for the church and the community. Shortly after Halloween, they went to the priest to propose the idea of a Posada since the church had never done one. 

“So (The Young Adult Group) came together, they sat down, wrote out a plan, looked at what other places had done in the past, and then presented the idea to the priest,” said Carla Santos, a member of Our Lady Guadalupe Church. “ He was like yes, let’s do it, he was very excited about it and he gave us the green light.”

Throughout the evening the will be periodical sessions to recite the rosary and teach visitors about the history of the Posada and other bits of Latin American culture.

“ Honestly there is a beautiful history behind the Posada and the pinata,” said Santos. “It’s not just about the journey that we are doing through this time, where we are waiting for the birth of Jesus Christ, I want (people) to understand to kind of understand their journey.”  

The evening will end with a Christmas dinner featuring Tamales, sweet bread and hot chocolate with a Pinata for the younger children. 

“Come out and join us and let’s get together this season,” said Santos. “ what better than to be in the community and celebrate this beautiful moment that it is leading up to which is the birth of Jesus Christ.”  

The Posada will be held on Friday Dec. 20 starting at 6 p.m. at Our Lady Guadalupe Church in Port Arthur.