Ahijados y Candelaria

Alan and I with our Ahijados (godchildren): Primativa, 20, Cristobal, 7, Cristian,  23, and Cristian, 12. The two older students are brother and sister, and he is graduating from college this week: a very big deal.

 We went to visit our four godchildren at the Oaxacan Streetchildren center, the organization that I wrote a bit about in the last blog.  The center has a dining room where the students can get a hot meal everyday and get help with homework, tutoring, or just check in with Cliff or other caring adults.  At this point, more than 600 students receive financial help so they can attend school.  The money that the sponsors give goes directly to the center where the uniforms, shoes and school supplies are purchased and distributed to the students.  This is important and assures that the money will be used as intended.

We really enjoyed being with our four godchildren and some of their family members.  Crisitian Cotez de Jesus came with his grandmother who cares for him and his sister since their mother left them four years ago. Our youngest godchild, Cristobal, came with his mother and three of his eight other siblings.

We had a cake to celebrate Cristian Flores Perez's graduation from college.  Both he and his sister Primativa, are in the city of Oaxaca to go to school.  They are from a village far up in the mountains where the highest education available is fifth grade. The younger kids seemed to be impressed that he could achieve a goal of college graduation, he will be an engineer, and we spoke about how it was possible for them, too.  At least I think that is what we spoke about. They nodded their heads like they knew what I was saying.  Thankfully, Cliff was there and he helped fill in the gaps in my Spanish.

We gave all the kids a few gifts: soccer balls, shirts, socks, etc., and that needed no translation. Big smiles all around and hugs, Wow!, Gracias! Muchas, gracias!

A window display of Nino Dios, Baby Jesus statues

Last minute preparations for Candelaria.  This is one of the stores where people bring their Baby Jesus to get him ready for the year ahead. Note all the accesories on the back wall. The workers dress the statues at each table.

 If you haven't been in Oaxaca on February 2nd, you probably
 haven't witnessed anything like Candelaria.  To celebrate the
 day that Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple, many

Saint Martin the Horseman Soldier

 religious families bring their precious statue of the infant Jesus to church to be blessed by the priest. 

Traditionally they buy him a new set of clothing, quite ornate,
and often new things like
a gilded chair to sit in, a pillow, or the various accessories that complete his outfit: staff, crown, sword, or stethoscope.  That's
right, they dress him up like a doctor, different saints, baseball players, the Pope - you name it!

You will see people bringing the statues to the stores to get them dressed or walking through the streets with the babies wrapped in blankets or seated on the thrones.  There are hundreds of them in the churches for mass on that day.  This is the only time these beloved statues leave the home altars where they are enshrined for the rest of the year.  They will be given flowers and candles as they are the center of the families' prayerful life at home.

Asleep with pillow

Infant Jesus of Atocha

Baby Jesus as the Pope

Not sure what Belen means. Maybe one of the Three Kings?

I know you didn't believe they really had a stethoscope!

Remember the special cakes for Three Kings Day on January 6th?  Alan got the piece that had the doll inside which meant he had to buy tamales for the celebration on Candelaria. Here we are at our Spanish school enjoying hot chocolate and tamales: Alan came through!  Luckily, Susan and Norman arrived the night before so they got to experience February 2nd in true Oaxacan style.

 We will let this little jam session be our goodbye for now. Can you spot the tourist?