Detroit — Members of Holy Redeemer Parish in southwest Detroit brought a Mexican tradition to the Motor City this Christmas season.

Las Posadas, Spanish for “A place to rest,” is a Mexican-Catholic tradition in which the community gathers together and goes door to door in the town, re-enacting Joseph and Mary’s search for a place to stay in Bethlehem in the Gospel of St. Matthew.

“Tonight we celebrate the birth of Christ with Las Posadas, the eight days for Christmas,” Holy Redeemer parishioner Juan Estrala said Dec. 19. “The idea is to celebrate Joseph and Mary, who couldn’t find a place to stay.”

At Holy Redeemer, and other archdiocesan parishes with a strong Hispanic presence, the tradition has taken on a twist of its own, due in part to the unforgiving Michigan winters.

While in Mexico, Las Posadas involves going from door to door eight times, Holy Redeemer recreates the scene in the basement of the parish hall, with parishioners playing Mary and Joseph sitting at a Nativity scene, while members of the parish pray a decade the rosary followed by a Christmas hymn.

“This is our interpretation of the Mexican tradition, using it as a way to introduce kids to the faith,” Estrala said. “It helps the kids come to know Jesus and His birth. After we pray a decade of the rosary, we parade around the room with the child Jesus. Then we give (the kids) candy to celebrate Jesus coming into our lives.”

After the parade around the room, the parish gathers for a meal and festive music.

Fr. Tony Blount, SOLT, associate pastor at Holy Redeemer, said Las Posadas serves as a reminder to the parish of the struggle Joseph and Mary went through leading up to the birth of Christ.

“Las Posadas has us reflect on Matthew’s Gospel, when Joseph and Mary can’t find anyone who would take them in. They get rejected and rejected, when finally someone says during the celebration, ‘Come in, I didn’t know it was you, St. Joseph.’”

Fr. Blount arrived at Holy Redeemer in June after ministering in southern Texas. He said Las Posadas is a popular devotion for many in Mexico who struggle because they relate to the hardships Mary and Joseph went through looking for rest.

“It’s really a quite beautiful way to prepare your heart to receive Jesus Christ,” Fr. Blount said. “It’s very powerful for Christmas time to understand that Our Blessed Mother and Our Lord, they suffered. We forget Jesus was born in a stable. For the poor in Mexico, who suffer a lot, who come from nothing, they really relate to Las Posadas — of not having a home and struggling to find rest.”