Our Christmas Traditions- Novenas (part 2)

So in my last post I shared what a Novena is and the concept behind this family tradition. Today I wanted to share some pictures of the first 3 novenas so you can get a feel for what happens on this daily feast.

We do these with the intention for everyone to show up all of the nights, but its never an obligation as we know that things happen, so attendance can always vary. 


1st Novena- (12/16) Arca/Bustos Family
                                                                                                                                                          
Martha (on the right) is known to be the "class clown" of our group and she sure didn't dissapoint by providing a very "cultural" but highly amusing raffle after all the prayers were said. They also provided our first taste of Bunuelos for the season...Yummmy! AND honestly, the horrendous overeating and food consumption began for all us! We have 9 more days of this to go....OMG help us!!!

                       

2nd Novena (12/17)- Coronado/Franceschi
                                                                                                                                  

 My mom co-hosted one at her house along with my brother Sergio and his girlfriend, Casandra, who provided a tasty little splash of her Puerto Rican culture by making us "Arroz con Gandules" or "rice and pidgeon peas" to feast on with some chicken wings and other goodies.

Adriana's mom had always been one of our mothers to lead the service, but today she decided to take a shot at it herself. She did a really nice job too!! Thanks Aige!

3rd Novena (12/18) - Chavez Family  

My friend Sandra and her family hosted this one out in Santa Clarita, and Sandra also gave us a good dose of entertainment, good wine and a very beautiful spread for us to enjoy. 

I had mentioned in my last post that these Novenas are done all in Spanish. Most of our kids only speak English or understand some Spanish, but probably not enough yet to fully understand what is being said. However, they are patient enough to sit through the Spanish just to be able to get to their favorite part, where they sing and participate in the only song they can figure out how to sing..."the Ven, Ven, Ven song". This is the song I had mentioned that our memories are based on, and honestly its what our kids (and anybody who joins us) highly remembers the most about our Novenas.  It is the chorus that is sung after each psalm in a long group of "Los Gozos" (rhymes of joy) is read. Its quite catchy...take a listen!

This is what makes the Novenas so worth it for us. To get to see our kids enjoy and participate in something fairly foreign to them, but yet they know its such a part of who they are....Ahh, Can't explain it how cool that is!

So that recaps the first 3 of the Novenas, and tomorrow I will have the next 3 for you all to check out.

Thanks for stopping by!

From my corner to yours...Have a great day everybody!!