Posadas carry on a living, joyful tradition in Salt Lake diocese

Friday, Dec. 23, 2016

OGDEN — With lots of emotion and excitement, parishioners of Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Ogden celebrated the traditional posada on Dec. 19, one in a series of nine that began Dec. 16. 

Each night during the novena, a different parish or mission in the Diocese of Salt Lake City celebrated the posadas, a Hispanic tradition that re-enacts the Virgin Mary and Joseph’s search for shelter on their journey to Bethlehem.

As the time for the posada drew near, families began to trickle into the St. Joseph parish hall. Many of the children wore clothing representing the shepherds who accompanied Mary and Jesus on their way to Bethlehem.

“It’s a tradition that we usually celebrate. … We want to keep the tradition alive and it also makes you remember where you are from, and your traditions and customs,” said St. Joseph parishioner Rosario Cuevas, with lots of joy in her voice.

The celebration started with the recitation of the rosary. In between the mysteries, Christmas songs were sung.

“We do this so all our kids know what we came from. It’s very important to show them our traditions and where we come from,” said Maria Juarez, another St. Joseph parishioner. 

The posada started with the singing of the traditional song, with its lyrics, “posada te piden estos peregrinos, que vienen cansados ...” (“Inn, we ask you as pilgrims, we have come very tired.”)

The diocesan Hispanic Commission and Office of the Hispanic Ministry plan the posadas annually in each parish and mission. This year the participating parishes and missions were the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City, Saint Jude in Ephraim, Saint Henry in Brigham City, Saint Andrew in Payson, Saints Peter and Paul in West Valley, Saint Francis Xavier in Murray, Saint Joseph in Ogden, and Our Lady of Guadalupe in Salt Lake City.