CLEVELAND — For José Santos Pérez, Silvia López and their family, celebrating Christmas isn’t limited to one day.

What You Need To Know

  • Posadas are a traditional Christmas celebration widely celebrated in Mexico, and now the United States, commemorating Mary and Joseph’s search for shelter before Jesus’ birth

  • Posadas begin on Dec. 16 and continue through Christmas Eve; activities usually involve a procession, singing carols, praying the rosary, sharing cultural cuisine and breaking piñatas

  • Our Lady of Lourdes Parish is participating in the festivities, allowing parishioners to share a piece of home with other cultures this holiday season

The pair moved from Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco in Mexico to Ohio nearly two decades ago, but they’re still hanging on to Catholic traditions from their homeland.

“The posadas, 12th of December, Day of the Virgin, the Holy Days, [and] Good Friday. The Masses that we did — well that the Father did — on December 8th, which was the day of the Immaculate Conception.”

Posadas, which translates to “Inn” or “Lodging,” is a nine-day celebration leading up to Christmas Eve. The festive days are widely celebrated in Mexico and other Latin American countries like El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. Congregants often sing carols, pray the rosary, share traditional dishes and recreate the biblical story of Mary and Joseph asking for shelter before Jesus’s birth.

“The three wise men come, and it is a very, very old tradition that we have always wanted to leave to our children for the day that we are no longer here, so that they can continue,” López said.

Joseph Callahan is a priest at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, located east of downtown Cleveland. The church was founded in 1883 amid an an influx of Eastern European immigrants, he said, but the congregation has become increasingly diverse over the year.

“We do have a lot of Latino people, Hispanic people, and we want to respect their customs and traditions as well,” Callahan said. “Their expression of Catholicism that they bring from other countries is really beautiful. 

He said the holidays are an especially busy time, bringing cultures from across the world to northeast Ohio.

“The three sort of main cultures that we have represented here tonight within our community, from Latin America, are Salvadorans, Mexicans, and then from the Caribbean, Puerto Ricans,” Callahan said. “Each of them brings their own traditions of food.” 

Pérez said the holidays are about finding unity and learning from each other’s differences.

“Learn some words in English, live with others – more than anything – with another country,” he said. “One never left his or her village. One only left for the same reason, out of necessity. But yes, God put us here and then we do the best we can by supporting the church, the community here.”

Even though they’re far from their native land, López said they’re happy to share a second home with hundreds of others.

“There is a lot of clashing of emotions,” she said. “Happiness at certain times, sadness for not being there, but we feel happy to live with them.”