Sacred Movement in Hispanic Philippines

How do Hispanic Filipinos prepare for Christmas? Dr Lorenzo-Molo takes us through the Posadas and the joyful Masses allowed by indult.

From One Peter Five

By Caterina Lorenzo-Molo, PhD

Advent Through Festive Penance and Sacred Movement in Hispanic Philippines

In Panunuluyan, A Preparatory Novena for Christmas,  Fr. Fidel Ferrer, FSSPX, explains the nature of the tradition as a preparatory novena for Christmas linked with other Hispanic traditions such as the Misas de Aguinaldo/ Misa de Gallo—a novena of votive dawn Masses (December 16-24), expressing joyful expectation of the Nativity. Originally forbidden by the Roman rubrics — because votive Masses of joy were not allowed in Advent, this was a privilege granted as an indult to some parts of Spain, Latin America, and the Philippines. In the Philippines, the indult was in place since 1587.

Returning to the Posadas, it reenacts the nine-day journey of the Holy Family from Nazareth to Bethlehem, recalling their hardships and search for lodging. Participants are divided into two: Posaderos — the households or chapel receiving the procession (keepers of lodging); and Peregrinos — the Holy Pilgrims carrying the images of St. Joseph and the pregnant Virgin Mary (Santos Peregrinos). The devotion consists of five parts:

1. Recitation of the Holy Rosary;
2. Procession with the Santos Peregrinos while singing the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary;
3. Asking and Giving of Lodging — the sung dialogue (La Posada);
4. Novena and Despedida prayers; and
5. The Piñata (in its traditional catechetical form — not mere festivity).

Rural photo from 1924

In the Philippines, the star-shaped parol symbolizes the miraculous star guiding the Holy Family on their search for lodging. Every posada is led by a lighted parol, showing the Holy Family the way.

Child holding a Parol

Pre-World War II altar decorated with Parols

It begins when all gather in the chapel or designated home. The Holy Rosary is recited in front of the Santos Peregrinos, with the mysteries following the traditional weekday pattern, spread over the novena. After the five mysteries, three special Hail Marys are added, asking Our Lady (Daughter, Mother, and Spouse) to help us persevere in faith, hope, and charity.

Then, a lighted parol leads the procession (walking with Mary and Joseph) — symbolizing the Star of Bethlehem, and the desire of every home to receive the Holy Family. The Santos Peregrinos are reverently carried by the peregrinos as the faithful accompany with lighted candles. As they walk, they chant the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Optionally, traditional Christmas carols may be sung after the Litany.

Then begins La Posada (asking for lodging). Upon arrival at the chapel/home, the group stands at the doorstep. Here begins the sung dialogue between the peregrinos (Mary and Joseph) and the posaderos inside. At first, lodging is refused, recalling how there was no room at the inn. After the dialogue, “the doors of Bethlehem” open and lodging is granted. It is also custom that a lighted parol should hang at the door while the dialogue is sung. This is the heart of the devotion — a dramatized examination of conscience: “Is there room in my life for Christ or have my ‘inns’ already been filled?”

Once the pilgrims enter, the Santos Peregrinos are set down — either in their original place or in a more honored spot. All recite: The Preliminary Novena Prayer; The Day-Specific Prayer; and The Despedida (farewell) Prayers. A final prayer of thanks is sung or recited by the peregrinos for the posadero family who hosted the evening. An important purpose to underscore: Prayer after hospitality forms gratitude and teaches that every home should be Bethlehem.

Finally, there is the Piñata – the moral of Advent. This is not entertainment. It is Catholic moral theology acted out. The piñata (palayok) is the earthen vessel, which serves as the final catechetical act of each evening’s devotion. It is not mere celebration; it completes the spiritual narrative the novena embodies. When Mary and Joseph finally find lodging, the piñata teaches the soul what follows perseverance and grace: the battle against sin and the reward of heaven. It is catechesis in symbolic form:

1. It is a seven-pointed star, symbolizing the seven capital sins;
2. Its bright colors represent temptation;
3. The blindfold represents the darkness of original sin;
4. The stick represents the Cross and grace given to overcome sin;
5. Turning seven times symbolizes confusion through vice; and
6. With the help of faith, grace, and the Holy Ghost, sin is conquered and the riches of heaven are revealed — represented by the candies.

Thus, the piñata is not entertainment, but moral and doctrinal catechesis acted out for children — a concrete teaching of the struggle against sin and the reward of heaven.

The Posadas Navideñas is no mere play. As an article here describes, it is penitential, with Misa de Gallo as the sole joyful element in the final week. Participation was understood as a work of devotion. This is concrete Catholic pedagogy: vigilance learned by waking early; humility by walking with Mary and Joseph; penance by fasting; and longing by refraining from celebration until Christmas arrived. By such practices, Advent became visible. It had sound, shape, and movement. It was not merely a season but a pilgrimage — and the soul learned to walk before it learned to behold.

While Advent is a season of penance, Fr. Ferrer reveals in his aforementioned work, in Hispanic tradition this included festive catechesis, not only fasting. Pope Sixtus V’s 1587 Papal Bull gave indults for the Misas de Gallo and Posadas as legitimate forms of penitential devotion. Those who participated in Las Posadas were exempt from fasting on Fridays and Ember Days, since their participation counted as penance. This explains why, in the Philippines, fasting and abstinence of Christmas Eve was traditionally moved to December 23, allowing December 16–24 to be lived with festive yet penitential devotion. This created a distinct Catholic logic: Advent was penitential but not only through fasting.

In summary, according to F. Ferrer, Posadas is not folklore. It is pedagogy. It is not performance. It is penance. It is not merely culture — it is Catholic formation. Its revival today would not be nostalgia but a return to doctrinally rooted, incarnate Advent preparation.

While Las Posadas Navideñas has not entirely disappeared in the Philippines, it is often done informally, abbreviated, or reduced to performance, detached from its original character as penitential and catechetical preparation for Christmas. The devotional structure remains known, but its traditional spirit — as Catholic pedagogy and formation — is largely forgotten. It summoned Catholics to a specific form of preparation: pilgrimage with Mary and Joseph, nine days of structured devotion, prayer through the Rosary, and physical participation in the journey toward Bethlehem. In this way, the Posada was not a bypass of penance — it was a training in penance, lived in the Catholic and Hispanic manner: not merely by abstaining, but by walking, praying, accompanying, and longing.

The Change in 1966 — A Key Turning Point

Fr. Ferrer notes, “The Apostolic Constitution Paenitemini of Paul VI (February 17, 1966) abrogated all indults and privileges with regards to abstinence,” requiring abstinence even during Posadas—unless a priest grants a commutation. The effect of Paenitemini was not merely juridical — it changed how penance was understood. From penance as Catholic formation (lived through prayer, pilgrimage, devotion, and fasting) to penance as primarily personal interior disposition (without obligatory exterior form). The result: The external forms of devotion were removed from the logic of penance, and thus, from the logic of Advent. When outward structure was no longer required, inward disposition evaporated; without structure, pedagogy disappeared; without pilgrimage, prayer became private; and eventually, we can infer, the Christmas party replaced the nine-day novena.

How penitential Advent devotion gave way to festivity — and how it can be restored

Today, some Catholics might instinctively feel something is wrong with the modern “holiday season.” Over-the-top secular and consumerist sentimentality can feel empty and become tiring, and all the noise, deafening. Perhaps it is because the soul is no longer trained for Christmas. If at all there appears some semblance of Advent (e.g. the Advent Wreath), it has become decorative and removed from the logic of the liturgical year—because festivity has lost its foundation.

Las Posadas is not rustic nostalgia, nor “cultural identity,” nor historical reenactment.
It is lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi — the law of prayer, the law of belief, the law of life. When lived correctly: The body learns what the mind cannot yet grasp; the soul learns longing by walking in darkness; children learn hope by experiencing unanswered doors; and grace is taught through the fatigue of procession—a reverse of the over-the-top secular and consumerist sentimentality, which can exhaust and drain the soul empty. But where noise was once deafening, sacred hymns, can enrich. Let’s embrace the privilege of expressing joyful expectation of the Nativity during Advent.

Pictured (top): A Las Posadas procession