Salisbury group honors their roots during holiday festivities

Members of Francis de Sales Church in Salisbury have been gathering the past few days to honor a 400 year old holiday tradition. The celebrations are called ‘posadas’, which have Catholic and Aztec roots and are usually celebrated in Mexico.

Guadalupe Espinoza, a church member says, “We like celebrating the posadas because it is a beautiful tradition and overall for the children. And although we are living in a different country now. We do not want to lose out traditions.”

Posadas take place nine days leading up to Christmas. The days represent the nine months Mary was pregnant with Jesus. During each day of celebration, a different family from the church hosts community members for a night of Christmas carols and prayers, serving their guests a meal, as well as treats for the children. The Cabrera family was one of this year’s lucky hosts.

Manuel Cabrera says, “When I was little my favorite part was receiving sweets and candy and eating the food, but when you grow up it means something bigger, to be closer to God and give a good example to your children.”

Although this time around Manuel is the one giving out the candy, he says he is happy to be passing down a tradition he learned in Mexico to his children. Cabrera also enjoys  uniting with community members to create a home away from home.