The Mother of All Celebrations

By Paul Hankel
Contributing Writer

As we enter the holiday season, FM residents have a truly unique opportunity to connect with a traditional Latino celebration: the Festival of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Who Are We if Not Traditional?

America is, and I think everyone can agree, founded on traditions. These traditions become staples in our lives and at no time are these traditions more apparent than during the holiday season. One almost feels obligated to, as an American, stuff ones face with 4500+ calories on the third Thursday in November in an attempt to prove ones allegiance to these traditions. You eat FISH on THANKSGIVING? That’s SO un-American of you!

Some traditions are recent: getting up at three in the morning to stand outside a box store owned by a corporation whom is simply marking down prices in an attempt fuel over-consumption and to clear its shelves to make room for the next batch of overpriced Chinese-Indonesian-made techno gadgets. I’m not here to judge. I too have fallen under the seductive spell of a $350 42-inch Toshiba LCD High Definition 1080P Flatscreen which, in all honesty, probably cost them around $55 to manufacture. Who am I to scoff at capitalism and price-conscious consumerism? And plus, it boosts the economy when I go out on November 26th in freezing temperatures and, ironically, almost melt my Visa card making so many purchases, right? Wait, what? Toshiba is a Japanese-owned company?! Oops.

Some traditions go back several decades: decorating a Christmas tree and making sugar cookies while the Kenny G Christmas album croons softy in the background (as a side note: who the HELL invented eggnog?! I can’t prove it, but I would imagine it involved several imbibers at a Christmas party who had run out of mixers. The thought process had to have went something like this: “Well we can’t just drink this rum straight from the bottle, grandma would never approve. Let’s take the equivalent of uncooked scrambled eggs, add sugar and cinnamon, a little booze and drink it!” Hmmm…).

And some traditions go back so far that it would be nearly impossible to indisputably accredit their origins: the giving of gifts at Christmas (I’ve heard it had something to do with the Three Wiseman), and the getting together of an entire family unit for one to three days, two consecutive months in a row.

Many different religious and ethnic groups celebrate meaningful holidays during the later months of the year. There’s Hanukah for the Jews, Ramadan for the followers of Islam, and the aforementioned Christmas for the Christians. There is, however, a holiday tradition that is seldom thought of that occurs during December that is as meaningful to a Latino as mistletoe and candy canes are to a holiday reveler. The Festival of Guadalupe.

The Virgin of Guadalupe

On December 12, 1531 Juan Diego, an indigenous peasant, experienced an event that would go on to shape Latino culture and history for centuries to come. For it was on that day during winter, while he was passing over the Hill of Tepeyac, in Mexico, that it he saw an apparition of a young indigenous woman who identified herself as Tonantzin Coatlicue, and told Juan Diego that she was the ‘mother of the one true god’.

During her appearance she also requested that a shrine be erected in that location in her honor. Interestingly, this location had also been the site of a destroyed temple to Our Lady Coatlicue, the goddess of the earth, also known as Tonatzin Coatlicue. Many indigenous Mexicans today believe mother Tonantzin/Guadalupe was just asking for her home to be rebuilt. To many, her apparition was also regarded as a sign that that Tonantzin never left her people and came to them as the incarnation of a Meztiza (mixed-blood) indigenous Virgin Mary.

Diego, a devout convert to Catholicism, quickly returned to his home town of Mexico City and reported the Marian apparition to his local Archbishop, Fray Zumarraga. Zumarraga, who doubted the report, instructed Diego to return to the spot where he had seen the apparition and ask the Virgin to perform a miracle.

Diego returned and the Virgin reappeared instructing him to climb to the top of Tepeyac Hill and gather some flowers. Miraculously (as it was winter) when he arrived at the top of the hill, Diego found Castillian roses growing in abundance. Surprised, he returned with the roses to the Virgin who arranged them in his cloak and instructed him to return to the Archbishop. Upon his arrived, Diego opened his cloak spilling the roses on the ground. Imprinted on Diego’s cloak was the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Diego’s attempts to carry out the Virgin of Guadalupe’s wishes are well documented in a literary account believed by most Latinos to be the, “authoritative and definitive,” musing of the apparition’s appearance and his subsequent attempts to erect a shrine in her honor. The account became known as the Nican Mopuhua and it, along with the Guadalupe shrine, have become sources of reverence and belief for millions of Mexican and Latino peoples today.

The Shrine of Guadalupe Today

Since that miraculous event, the Virgin of Guadalupe (also known as Our Lady of Guadalupe, or Tonantzin Cuatlique) has been a source of devotion to not only Catholic Mexicans but to Latinos worldwide. She now stands as the definitive symbol of Mexico and its indigenous people and as a source of reverence to the entire country.

A local congregant of the St. Francis Mission elaborated, “During the colonization of the early 1500’s, the conquistadors and missionaries were forcing Christianity on Mexican Meztizos and Indians; the Virgin of Guadalupe came to signify a shift.”

That shift was from, in many indigenous Mexicans minds, the oppressive nature of Christianity to the eventual religion of Mexico, Catholicism.

The shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe is, by far, the most visited Catholic pilgrimage site in the world, even more so than the Vatican. It stands as a basilica outside of Mexico City and as a source of fierce national pride and identity.

“Getting to finally see the actual shrine to the Virgin, was a tremendously proud moment for me,” said Siri Cortez, a Mexican-American, “I was the first in my family to get the opportunity to make the pilgrimage and see, first-hand, what it means to our people and our faith. It was very powerful.” To watch a pilgrimage to the Basilica of Guadalupe, scan the code on this page or go online to the hpr1.com for links to video and to the peoplespresspressproject.org for photos from past Guadalupe Festival celebrations. Contribute photos of your past Guadalupe day celebrations by emailing them to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, was canonized in July, 2002 and the first indigenous saint and is now referred to as Saint Juan Diego. December 9th is traditionally observed as a day of celebration in his honor.

December 12 plays host to the yearly traditional celebration of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Latinos honor the Virgin by retelling and reenacting her story, and honoring her with music, dancing, feasts and the offering of flowers at her shrine.

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Fargo

The Guadalupe Latino Ministry in Moorhead is the effort of several Catholic parishes which is housed at St. Francis Catholic church at 218 10th St. The ministry welcomes Latino families and helps them to preserve their “identity and Latino values”. The Guadalupe Festival is certainly one of those values which is celebrated every year at St. Francis on December 12. Sr. Lucy Perez-Calixto, the coordinator for the Gudalupe Latino Ministry, invites everyone from the Fargo-Moorehead region to partake in this wonderful cultural and religious backgrounds.

The celebration kicks off early at 6 a.m with “Las Mañanitas” (the ‘little morning’ songs) serenaded to Our Lady of Guadalupe followed by rosary at 6:30 a.m.. Then, Sr. Lucy will give a fascinating talk on the Secrets of the Virgin’s eyes. Our Lady is filled with miracles, even inside her eyes. Sr. Lucy will tell us all about it from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., coffee and donuts will be served.

Then, in the afternoon (about 5:20) things really get interesting. A performance in the parish of the Virgin’s apparitions to Juan Diego will be reenacted by the children of St. Francis parish. The children will also do a performance traditional to the indigenous Matachines to worship Guadalupe. This will be followed by Solemn Mass and music in Spanish. A special Mexican meal follows while the performances continue. Folkloric ballet dancing of Mexico will perform dances from the regions of Veracruz, Sinaloa, or Jalisco. Questions can be directed to Sister Lucy at 218-233-4780

Questions or comments: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

IF YOU GO

What:  Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Where: St. Francis Church; 601 15th. Ave. North, Moorhead, MN
When:  Dec. 12 - Open and Free to the Public

A.M. -TIMES:
Las Mañanitas - 6 a.m.
Santo Rosario - 6:30 a.m.
Secrets of the Virgin’s Eyes - 7 a.m. by Sister Lucy

P.M. - TIMES:
Reenactment/Play of Guadalupe Apparition to Juan Diego; Matachines Indigenous Dance to Guadalupe - 5:30 p.m.
Mass - 6 p.m.
Meal - Regional Dance Performances - 7 p.m.