Las Posadas in the Lower School

Students in SK through 3rd grade recently took turns visiting the small gym to participate in the ceremonial breaking of a piñata as a culminating activity of their recent study of Las Posadas in Spanish class.

 

Prior to this week’s excitement, students learned about the tradition of Las Posadas in Mexico that marks the build-up to Christmas Eve and commemorates the journey of Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem. From December 16 to 24, children lead a house-to-house procession each night, carrying small reproductions of Mary and Joseph and candles searching for posada (lodging). When they are refused, they sing holiday songs and the procession moves on until they find a kind innkeeper. Once the innkeeper welcomes them inside his/her home, a celebration follows—of family, neighbors, friends and community, including music, refreshments, dancing and a piñata.

 

On this week’s piñata day, the small gym was transformed into a festive gathering space featuring lights on the floor and lasers dotting the walls. Lower School Spanish teacher Señor Baltierra took turns leading students by the hand, blindfolding them, playfully disorienting them by spinning them around and encouraging them to take several whacks at the piñata while controlling its frenetic, bouncing movement from several feet away to delight the students.

 

Laughter and vocal encouragement—in Spanish, of course—were the order of the lesson. Even when the piñata eventually broke open, revealing no contents at all (for allergy and safety reasons), students hardly seemed to notice and left the space with smiles on their faces and a better understanding of another aspect of Mexican culture.

Click here for more photos from this activity!