Many people across the United States are trying this week to celebrate Christmas but those with a touch of Spanish in them are paying tribute to the birth of Jesus Christ a little differently.
Rather than be engulfed by a shopping frenzy culminating in festivities Tuesday night and Wednesday, some Hispanics began celebrations last week.
In traditional Latin American cultures, festivities began Dec. 16 and run through late Tuesday, with attention focusing around the Posada -- the journey Mary and Joseph were forced to make in search of a place for Mary to give birth to the baby Jesus.
Re-creations include people literally parading each night through their hometowns as they are turned away from house after house -- the same way Joseph and a pregnant Mary were turned away from inn after inn -- only to wind up at the pre-selected home where the party will take place that evening.
Few churches in Hispanic neighborhoods try to do anything as ambitious. Many limit Posada recreations to one night.
In Chicago, Catholic parishes in Mexican and Puerto Rican neighborhoods across the city were given use on Dec. 15 of the ornate Holy Name Cathedral for a Posada festival.
The indoor event drew about 700 people, mostly of Mexican descent with a smattering of Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Salvadorans, Hondurans and Colombians.
The traditional prayers and songs that are part of an outdoor Posada -- including "Alegria, Alegria" and "El Nino del Tambor" -- were sung while church officials recounted the story of Jesus' birth.
Participants took their program very seriously. Some wore their finest suits and dresses, and a few brought video cameras to record the ceremony as a souvenir to go along with other personal heirlooms.
Church officials admit their program was not a purist's Posada. It was a mish-mash of traditions from Spanish-speaking cultures in recognition of Chicago's polyglot population.
"This may be a Mexican tradition but we're not looking to exclude anyone who's Puerto Rican or any other nationality," said Jorge Orivela, who helped coordinate the service.
For Carlos Campos, a Chicago resident who attended with his girlfriend, Lucia Castro, the Second City's Posada was significant because it was held in the downtown cathedral where Cardinal Francis George is based and occasionally presides over mass.
"Being able to come to the big church downtown makes this service even more special," Campos said. "It's nice to see the church leaders, the cardinal, recognize the legitimacy of our customs."
Cities in warm weather climates had outdoor Posadas.
In San Antonio, about 3,000 people led by a costumed Mary riding a donkey, with a Joseph at her side, marched Sunday from Milam Park to San Fernando Cathedral, making stops at various downtown landmarks during the 2-hour journey.
Just as significant were services held last week at St. Stephen Church in Framingham, Mass., near Boston, where about 800 people of Mexican or Spanish background gathered to celebrate the Feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe -- the patron saint of Mexico.
But Hispanics are no different than other U.S. residents in that the influence of religion in their lives is declining. An American Religious Identification Survey found the percentage of Hispanics with no religion had doubled.
So not all Spanish-influenced festivities were religious.
In Ephraim, Utah, which has a Hispanic population of only 6.6 percent, area school children were taught Spanish Christmas customs and given the chance to make piñatas -- colorful, candy-stuffed papier-mâché figures that are broken open by children wielding sticks.
There also are many thousands of people across the United States whose ethnic festivities won't go any farther than having tamales -- corn meal stuffed with meats, sugars, peppers or fruits and baked while wrapped in corn husks -- as the main course of their holiday meal.
In short, Hispanics across the country have been celebrating Christmas while those not fortunate enough to be Hispanic have been engaged in a hectic search for the perfect present for that special someone.
What's ironic is that while some Hispanics cling to "old world" customs, people back home are being influenced by "American" culture.
Traditionally, celebrations culminate with a Christmas Eve performance of Los Pastores, an allegorical play where shepherds hear angels singing and wonder if they should bother to make the trip in the cold winter.
Wednesday, which in the United States is the day many traditionalists prefer to open their Christmas presents, is nothing special.
But the "American" influence that has brought Coca-Cola, pop music and blue jeans to Latin America has led to the spread of decorated evergreen trees, images of Santa Claus and gifts under the tree.
It turns out Ol' St. Nick now delivers presents to good girls and boys, even if they live "south of the border, down Mexico way."
(Hispanidad is a weekly column about the culture of Hispanics and Latinos in the United States, written by Greg Tejeda, a third-generation Mexican-American. Suggestions for topics can be made to [email protected])
