La Novena de Mama Suerte

My Z-man's dad is a first generation American; his parents moved here from Colombia before they had children. My family has been in America for as long as we have traced back. It is very important to me that I support and help to foster both sides of Z-man's cultural identity. 

I know my family's stories well, of wars fought, Great Depression struggles, the brave move from farm to city life, our legacy of educators.  Sometimes, my traditions, recipes, and values are shared so naturally that I don't even realize I'm doing it; these things are so much a part of who I am.

Fostering Z's Colombian identity is much more conscience for me-a challenge. I acknowledge that I might not always get things right, that my understanding might not be complete, and that the language barrier is a pretty big one. I'm committed to trying my best, asking family for priceless input and to make time with my guy, and to learning as much as I can.

So, last year, when his Tia mentioned la Novena, I knew I wanted to somehow work it into our December. I researched it and found out when to start it (December 16th) and what the ritual was. Then, I chose the parts of the ritual that speak to me, and that I thought would be important to Z-man. We haven't done the big party part of la Novena, but I'm hoping to incorporate at least one visit to a neighbor's house next year (any takers?).

So yesterday, and today, and every day for the next seven days, we will plug in our candle (classy, I know) and pull out our bible. I had the opening prayer from la Novena translated and I adapted it into something that Z can understand. We open in prayer and then read part of the birth story from the bible. We sing Christmas songs that Z-man picks out, lots because he loves to sing, and then close with a prayer.

I know my version of this is not culturally accurate. I know that it barely even resembles the traditional Novena. Today, Z-man asked if we could do his "novena". I can feel that this is making Christmas more meaningful for us. And that is what traditions are all about.