Las Mañanitas
On December 12, 2003 the St. Isidore Parish Community celebrated the Mañanitas to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Parishioners started arriving by 4:00 a.m. to serenade Our Lady on her special day. Singing continued for 30 to 40 minutes before the beginning of the Mass of Celebration. After the Mass hot chocolate and pan dulce (sweet Mexican bread) were served to warm everyone up since the temperature was in the high 40 degrees.
Below are pictures of the celebration, courtesy of our Pastor, Fr. Soria.
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This Mexican tradition goes back for more than 100 years and confirms the appearance of Our Lady to St. Juan Diego on Tepeyac Hill. She appears as the pregnant virgin (that is why she has the purple cincture around her waist, which is an Aztec symbol of pregnancy-expectancy). She is about to give birth to the Sun of Justice and the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ our Lord. This is why this celebration occurs before the sun comes out to give light to the world in the new day and so close to Christmas day, the birth day of our Lord. The celebration also recognizes the birth of the Mexican race, a mixture of European and Native American blood and culture. If you look very closely at the statues and portraits of Our Lady of Guadalupe you can see the "mestiza", the mixture of two races. |
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