Warrenville celebrates Mexican Christmas tradition

More than 300 people are expected to pack the gym of a Warrenville elementary school Saturday for an annual Christmas Posada offering a taste of a Mexican holiday tradition.

The event, hosted by Warrenville Youth & Family Services and the Warrenville Hispanic Council, takes place from 3 to 8 p.m. Saturday at Clifford Johnson Elementary School, 2S700 Continental Drive.

It features food, songs, crafts, a piñata and a re-enactment of the search by Mary and Joseph for a place to stay the night of Jesus' birth, said Angela Mains of Warrenville Youth & Family Services.

Children acting as Jesus, Mary and Joseph will lead the crowd in call-and-response songs, asking, “Do you have room in your house for me?” Mains said.

“It's a very participatory thing,” Mains said. “The focus is hospitality.”

Along with the re-enactment, the Posada includes food, much of it donated from area restaurants, Mains said. Chicken, carnitas, mole, rice, beans and cake area on the menu.

In Mexico, the Posada takes place during the nine days leading up to Christmas, said Alejandra Parra of Warrenville, who leads about 60 Warrenville Hispanic Council volunteers who plan and organize the event.

And while the suburban recreation of the Posada is only one day, Parra said many in her community look forward to it every year.

“The people in the community know the Posada and they are waiting for the Posada and they enjoy it a lot,” Parra said. “The most important thing for me is to see all my community together.”

Churches in the Warrenville community get involved in the tradition by donating food or small gifts to be included in goody bags for children who attend the event, Mains said.

The majority of the Posada crowd has been Hispanic in the past, but Mains said area residents of other ethnic backgrounds are invited to come experience the Mexican Christmas tradition for themselves.

“It's a great way for people interested in crossing cultures to come experience it locally,” she said.