Last night I attended a Posada. The word "posada" means "inn." It's been a long time since I've been. So I thought it would be fun to go when it had already rained heavily and was threatening more of the same. It held up. A Spanish song is sung in 9 verses about the search for lodging all along the way. About 2/3rds of the way along I heard an Irish lilt next to me: "Isn't it lovely?" I turned to see Fr. Mark about 3 feet away from me in the crowd. He'd still been saying Mass when we'd started off. Quite windy, but there was a crowd of about 300+ people who followed the course of Mary and Joseph, Dulcinea (the donkey!), as they sought shelter from mean old innkeepers and were turned away 8 times before reaching La Casa de Estudillo! Mary rode that donkey right across the threshold too. [Nicer digs they couldn't have had! A fine old ranchero and the setting for Helen Hunt Jackson's "Ramona's Wedding!"]
A lot of fun on such a cold night. The shops had stayed open late and a lot of community organizations had turned out. Afterwards there was some pinata breaking for the kids and caroling all over Old Town, including at our church.
