Feliz Navidad!

¡Feliz Navidad a todos! I hope that this entry finds you full of the Christmas spirit and with warm hearts of love and gratitude. As I write this, the day after Christmas, I find myself reflecting on the beauty of Christmas here at the Finca. This was my first Christmas away from home, and, to be honest, I must admit I was dreading being away from all my family traditions and home this year. Very few things signified Christmas to me as I know it. A few weeks ago, I mentioned to Liz, our sub-director, that I was having a hard time recognizing it was Christmas time. She agreed that Christmas has a very different feel here but that there are in fact signs that Christmas is on its way, you just have to realize they are different. I decided to wait and see.

On the 16th of December, we started “Posadas.” I am sure some of you are familiar with the tradition. Here at the Finca, Posadas take place for several nights leading up to Noche Buena (Christmas Eve). All of the Finca and several of our Finca neighbors gather together and walk from house to house looking for “room in the inn” or “posada,” just as Mary and Joseph did. At each house, we sang a song back and forth between us looking for posada and those in the houses. I could not help but smile when, after being denied at the first couple of houses, all the kids groaned in disappointment. Thankfully, every night, at the last house, we were allowed to pass and then shared in prayer, reflection, and song.

While traveling from house to house, we caroled underneath the stars. I was touched at how beautiful it was that we all gathered together, young and old, to remember the probably very difficult and frustrating journey Mary and Joseph endured. As I took time to look up at the stars on our walks between houses, I often found myself asking, “I wonder what it was really like for them?” This is a question I had never asked myself before. While I have always been aware of the time of advent and preparing myself for the coming of Jesus, I have never considered the journey of Mary and Joseph as concretely as I did here. And then I thought, this must be what Liz was talking about, Christmas is almost here.

On Christmas Eve, it became very clear that, though we have warm weather and nearly all the cultural traditions are very different (including the fact that Santa Claus comes on the evening of the 23rd and not the 24th!), Christmas had arrived. As a Finca community, we gathered together early in the morning at all of our fogons (aka - wood burning stoves) to prepare the traditional meal of tamales and chicken sandwiches. It was beautiful to see everyone offering a helping hand and coming together as a community.

Christmas most clearly arrived for me at Christmas Eve mass. As I entered our small chapel and sat down to pray before mass, a calming sense came over me as I took in the beauty that surrounded me. I found great joy in seeing the faces of our children, houseparents, tias, volunteers, sisters, and neighbors all gathered together to celebrate the birth of our Lord, Jesus. It was beauty in its most simple form and I was so grateful to be a part of it.

So, though I think there was still a part of all of us that missed being with our families on Christmas, the Christmas Spirit filled our hearts here at the Finca. Yes, all the Christmas signs were different, but just as Liz assured me, they are there if you open your eyes to them. Overall, it was a beautiful and blessed Christmas here at the Finca.