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A candle-lit Las Posadas procession with Mary on a donkey and Joseph leading it down a snowy adobe street lined with luminarias
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Nine nights · December 16–24

Las Posadas: what they mean, how to host one, and where to join a procession in the US

For nine nights before Christmas, Mexican and Mexican-American families act out Mary and Joseph's search for a place to stay: a candle-lit walk from door to door, a sung back-and-forth with the 'innkeepers', and — once the door finally opens — ponche, tamales and a piñata. Here is what Las Posadas mean, how to host one at home, and where to join a procession in the US.

47 posadas in 31 US metro areas · 765 parishes with Spanish Mass in 33 states · checked September 2026

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until the first posada

What is Las Posadas?

Posada means inn or shelter. Las Posadas re-enact the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem and their search for a room, one night at a time, for nine nights — the novena that stands for the nine months Mary carried Jesus. The tradition goes back to the late 1500s, when Spanish friars in central Mexico turned the Advent masses into a community procession.

Today 'posada' has two meanings. The religious procession is still kept by parishes and neighborhoods; and any Christmas party in December — at home, at school, at the office — is called a posada navideña too.

When are Las Posadas?

Every year from December 16 to December 24, one posada each evening; the ninth ends with Christmas Eve, Nochebuena. In 2026 the first posada is on Wednesday, December 16. Families usually take turns hosting, so each night is at a different house; community processions in the US are often held on one weekend evening instead.

How the procession and the song work

Two people — or children — play Mary and Joseph, sometimes with Mary on a real donkey; an angel or a star leads the way, and everyone else follows with candles. At each chosen house the group outside sings as the pilgrims, asking for shelter, and the people inside answer as innkeepers, turning them away verse by verse.

The song for this, the canto para pedir posada, is a traditional call-and-response. At the last door the innkeepers recognise the travellers, the door opens, everyone comes in singing, and there is a short prayer before the party. Printed song sheets are handed out at most public posadas, so nobody needs to know the words by heart.

How to host a posada at home

Choose the pilgrims and give everyone a candle — tea lights in paper cups are safest for children. Walk around the block or just from room to room, singing at two or three 'inns' before yours. Once inside, serve the food, then take the children outside for the piñata.

The Christmas piñata is a star with seven points, traditionally said to stand for the seven deadly sins; breaking it blindfolded is faith beating temptation, and the sweets that pour out are the reward. End with aguinaldos: small bags of candy, cookies, peanuts and fruit for every child.

The food is simple and made for a crowd: tamales, buñuelos drizzled with piloncillo syrup, champurrado or hot chocolate, and a big pot of ponche.

A boy swinging a stick at a star-shaped Christmas piñata at a posada partyPhoto: Nick Saum · CC BY-SA 3.0

Ponche navideño: the posada punch

A hot fruit punch that fills the house with cinnamon. For about 20 cups: bring 4 quarts of water to the boil with 2 cinnamon sticks and one cone of piloncillo (8 oz, or 1 cup packed brown sugar). Add 12 tejocotes, 4 guavas cut in quarters, 2 apples and a pear in chunks, 2 sugarcane sticks cut into thin strips, a handful of prunes and raisins, and a strip of orange peel.

Simmer on low for 30 to 40 minutes, until the fruit is soft and the tejocotes split. Ladle into mugs with plenty of fruit and a piece of sugarcane to chew on. Adults often add a splash of rum or brandy to their own cup — ponche con piquete.

Tejocotes — small Mexican hawthorn fruit — are the ingredient people can't find. Look for them fresh, frozen or in jars at Mexican supermarkets in December; if you can't get them, extra apple and a few dried apricots will do.

A clay jarrito of hot ponche navideño with a stick of sugarcanePhoto: ProtoplasmaKid · CC BY-SA 4.0

Luminarias: lighting the way on the last night

In New Mexico the last posada, Christmas Eve, is also the night of luminarias — or farolitos, as they are called in Santa Fe: paper bags weighted with sand, each holding a candle, set out along paths, walls and rooftops to light the way for the Holy Family. Whole neighborhoods glow, and people walk the streets to see them.

Rows of glowing paper-bag luminarias along a path and on the roofline of an adobe house at nightPhoto: camerafiend · CC BY-SA 3.0

Where to join Las Posadas in US cities

47 public posadas in 31 metro areas — parish processions, city festivals, museum days and neighborhood celebrations. We searched Google in 34 metros with large Mexican-American communities and kept only events with a date and a place confirmed by the organizer or local press. Dates are as last held; most return on the same weekend, and the 2026 dates are announced in November and December.

Tap Near me for the posadas below and 765 Catholic parishes whose own website lists a Spanish Mass — the parishes most likely to hold a posada every evening from December 16 to 24. Only a handful put their posada schedule online in September, so call the parish office in early December.

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By city

Los Angeles, CA

  • El Pueblo, Downtown

    Las Posadas on Olvera Street

    One of LA's oldest Christmas traditions, kept every night on the city's oldest street: a procession with Mary and Joseph around the plaza, songs, performances and a children's piñata. Free and open to everyone.

    Next: Every evening, December 16–24: entertainment from 5:30 pm, candlelight procession at about 7 pm

    Olvera Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012Organizer's page

  • Paramount

    Posada Navideña at the Paramount Swap Meet

    A two-day community posada at one of the region's big Latino swap meets, with music and family activities.

    Last held: December 13–14, 2025, 11 am–4 pm ($3 entry)

    Paramount Swap Meet, Paramount, CAOrganizer's page

  • Riverside

    Las Posadas at the Riverside Art Museum

    A free afternoon posada with art-making for families in downtown Riverside.

    Last held: Sunday, December 1, 2024, noon–5 pm

    Riverside Art Museum, 3425 Mission Inn Ave, Riverside, CAOrganizer's page

San Diego, CA

San Francisco & Bay Area, CA

Sacramento, CA

Fresno, CA

Santa Fe & Albuquerque, NM

Tucson & Phoenix, AZ

Las Vegas & Salt Lake City, NV / UT

Denver, CO

Texas: Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, TX

El Paso & the Rio Grande Valley, TX

Chicago & the Midwest, IL / MN / WI / IN / MO

Seattle & Portland, WA / OR

Boston & Florida, MA / FL

Questions

When do Las Posadas start and end?
They start on December 16 and end on December 24, Christmas Eve — nine nights in all. In 2026 the first posada is on Wednesday, December 16.
What does 'pedir posada' mean?
To ask for lodging. It is the name of the sung exchange at the door: the pilgrims outside ask for shelter, the innkeepers inside refuse, until the last verse, when the door opens.
What do you eat at a posada?
Tamales, buñuelos, hot ponche navideño with fruit and cinnamon, champurrado or hot chocolate — and the candy from the piñata and the aguinaldo bags.
Is Las Posadas only for Catholics?
It began as a Catholic devotion and parishes still keep it, but in the US it is just as much a family and neighborhood party. Public posadas welcome everyone.