History of Las Posadas December 16 - December 24, 2008  Save as Bookmark  Send this Page to Friend. Las Posadas Home   History of Las Posadas   Las Posadas Celebrations   Las Posadas Mexican Recipes   Travel Tips for Las Posadas   What is Pinata & How to Make It   Luke 2: The Birth of Jesus At that time, Augustus Caesar sent an order that all people in the countries under Roman rule must list their names in a register. This was the first registration; it was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to their own towns to be registered. So Joseph left Nazareth, a town in Galilee, and went to the town of Bethlehem in Judea, known as the town of David. Joseph went there because he was from the family of David. Joseph registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was now pregnant. While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to have the baby, and she gave birth to her first son. Because there were no rooms left in the inn, she wrapped the baby with pieces of cloth and laid him in a feeding trough. ~ The Bible (New Testament)     In the present day, Las Posadas is a re-enactment of the search by Jesus' two parents, Joseph and Mary for lodging prior to Jesus' birth. Typically, each family in a neighborhood will schedule a night for the Posada to be held at their home, starting on the 16th of December and finishing on the 24th. This tradition dates back to the sixteenth century and St. Ignatius Loyola, who used an Aztec festival to teach about the birth of Christ. He also wanted to replace the nine-day celebration of the birth of the Aztec Sun god with a Christian celebration. What started as a novena, or nine days of prayer, eventually moved from the church to the community and was celebrated in people's homes. Go Page Up...