Finding room at the inn

Young Chang

Little Megan Colliniz kept asking Tuesday where her friend Nelly was.

Her mother, Vicki, sipping a spicy, sangria-scented punch, told her Nelly

would arrive soon.

Consuelo Collison, meanwhile, gathered guests in the backyard who kept

themselves warm by huddling around a small fire. Collison, the hostess of

the night and Vicki Colliniz’ sister-in-law, had already finished

cooking.

Vats of tamales and posoles, which had started simmering at 3 in the

afternoon, sat on the stove as proof.

Back in the living room, 5-year-old Megan suddenly spotted Nelly

walking up the driveway and ran out, yelling, “I think that’s Nelly!”

Collison, seeing as how all her guests had arrived for their posada,

ushered everyone else back to the yard. The pastor from St. Joachim

Catholic Church in Costa Mesa, where the Collisons are members, finally

made it too.

“We do it every year,” said Mike Collison, Consuelo’s husband. “We

have friends that we don’t see all year, and they come. And if we don’t

see [people] at Christmas, then we exchange gifts here and have the

posada.”

For the Collisons and their 40 guests, an annual posada is a chance to

celebrate the New Testament story of Joseph and Mary’s search for lodging

during their journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem before the birth of

Christ. It is also a time to celebrate the bonds between family and

friends.

Tuesday, about 30 adults and 10 feisty children arrived at the

Collison’s Costa Mesa home to take part in the Catholic procession.

Layered in jackets and turtlenecks and holding candles, the group went

out.

Four children held a Nativity scene (substituting for the traditional

figures of Mary and Joseph on a burro) propped on long wooden bars as the

group went first to a neighbor one house over and asked in English and

Spanish if there was “room at the inn,” as the Bible says Joseph and Mary

did. Some sang the request, which the neighbor denied, leading the group

to go to the house across the street for the same exchange. At the third

house, that of the Collisons, they finally found refuge.

Leaders from St. Joachim held posadas at various Costa Mesa homes

throughout the week, starting Sunday, and presented one at the church

Friday. The posada, which includes the singing of hymns and prayers, is

observed through Christmas Eve. St. Joachim’s posada is the only one in

the area that is bilingual. Most are held only in Spanish.

“We ask [for room] singing,” said Margot Santos, coordinator of the

Spanish family life office at St. Joachim. “A group of people are at both

sides of the house, another group of people is inside the house saying

they can’t receive Joseph and Mary.”

The Collisons decorated their home for the season, giving their

neighborhood posada a red and green, candlelight feel. As guests mingled

and had a party after the procession, instrumental versions of Christmas

carols floated out of the stereo.

“It’s a traditional Mexican celebration that’s done every year at

Christmas,” said Consuelo Collison. “And it’s a time to reflect and to

pray for the Christmas season.”