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Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem, Mary on a donkey and Joseph walking with his staff under the star. A lovely scene, free as a PDF.
Printable sheet
Free for personal and educational use
Download PDFPrintMary sitting on a donkey and Joseph guiding it with a staff, with a palm tree, stones, hills, the town of Bethlehem and a bright star.
Use blue for Mary's mantle, browns for Joseph and a soft gray for the donkey.
Act out a posada: one group asks for shelter in song and another answers from inside.
Seven-pointed star piñatas are a traditional part of Las Posadas parties.
Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem, Mary on a donkey and Joseph on foot, is the scene behind Las Posadas, a beloved tradition in Mexico that is celebrated across the United States as well, from December 16 to 24.
In the Gospel of Luke, Mary and Joseph travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem for a census and find no room at the inn. Las Posadas, which means the inns, reenacts that search for shelter over nine nights, often linked to the nine months Mary carried Jesus.
Each evening, neighbors walk through the streets with candles, sometimes led by children dressed as Mary and Joseph. At each home they sing a verse asking for lodging, and the people inside sing back that there is no room. After a few stops, one family finally opens the door and welcomes everyone in.
Then the party begins, with prayers, tamales, sweet breads and warm fruit punch called ponche, plus a piñata. The classic piñata is a star with seven points, which popular tradition links to the seven deadly sins. Churches and Mexican American communities from Texas to California keep Las Posadas alive every December.
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