A grand posada

The re-enactment of Mary and Joseph journeying, years and years ago, to Bethlehem is the core of the Mexican posada. The most formal posada begins on December 16th and is re-enacted until Christmas Eve.

In the most formal settings folks are on the street and go from house to house with an invitation into a house on each night.

I'm supposed to help with one tonight, but it is raining nonstop so I'm not quite sure what will happen.

I'm in a bit over my head with another journey that took place years and years ago. I have taken part in the Human Genome Project and this map is a read out of my maternal part of the journey. As a woman this is all the story that I can know. Blame genetics for the limitation.

I am amazed at the map. Being very 21st century I would love to have it be more interactive, to somehow become animated, or somehow tell me where the stops took place along the millenia of travel.

Did my ancestors spend several generations in the north of Africa? As they traveled across Asia did they taken the northern or more southern route? Did my haplogroup cousins prefer the cool of what we know as Canada or the warmer climes of what was Tenochtitlan?

I know how the Mary and Joseph Posada ends. I wish I had more answers for our familial posada.