Chicanos at Christmas time
Linda Fregoso and guests Carmen Tafolla and Raquel Perez discuss several religious traditions Chicanos celebrate at Christmastime. Fregoso observes that Christmas practices depend on the values an beliefs of a culture and she explores how Chicanos celebrate Catholic Christmas traditions that reflect their religious values. She explains that Chicano Christmas traditions blend Spanish, indigenous and Anglo traditions. For many Chicanos, Christmas officially begins on the feast day of the Virgin de Guadalupe, December 12th, and Fregoso describes the different ways Mexicans and Chicanos celebrate the occasion. She then explores the nativity scenes that many Chicanos place under their Christmas tree. Carmen Tafolla discusses some of the practices associated with the nativity scene, including the Acostada and Levantada of the baby Jesus.
Fregoso then speaks with Raquel Perez about the Posadas that begin nine days before Christmas and which reenact Joseph and Mary’s search for shelter. Perez explains that children often play the major roles in the Posada and as such the tradition reinforces Chicano cultural and religious values. Fregoso and Raquel next discuss the Misa de Gallo, or the midnight mass on Christmas Eve. They also discuss the different practices of gift-opening and compare Mexican and Chicano traditions.
KEYWORDS
Carmen TafollaCatholicism
Children
Christmas
Christmas Carols
Consumer Culture
Culture
Family
Food
Jesus Christ
Joseph
Juan Diego
La Virgen de Guadalupe
Mary
Mexico
Mexico
Misas de Gallo
Nacimientos
Nativity Scene
navidad
Niño Jesus
Our lady of Guadalupe
Parades
Piñatas
Pilgrimages
Popular Culture
Posadas
Raquel Perez
Religious Processions
Religious Syncretism
Religious Traditions
Rosa Linda Fregoso
Rosary
Santa Claus
Spain
Tamaladas
Tamales
Tepeyac
Three Kings
Tradition
Virgin de Guadalupe