On which date does Mexico’s Las Posadas tradition begin each year?

Mexico’s Las Posadas tradition begins on December 16 each year.

Las Posadas is a nine-night celebration held from 16 through 24 December. Its name means “the lodgings” or “the inns,” reflecting the search for shelter traditionally associated with Mary and Joseph before Jesus’s birth.

Participants may process between homes, sing call-and-response songs, and ask for lodging. The celebration often ends with prayers, food, music, and a piñata, especially for children. Each night represents part of the nine-day period before Christmas.

Las Posadas is widely practiced in Mexico and in communities elsewhere with Mexican or Latin American cultural ties. It should not be confused with Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe on 12 December, which is an important but separate observance.