How to Plan an "Our Lady of Guadalupe Celebration"

On December 9, 1531, the young peasant, Juan Diego, first saw an apparition of Mary in Guadalupe, Mexico. When he told his archbishop of the apparition and her demand to build a church on Tepeyac Hill, the exact place where the apparition took place, the archbishop told him to return with proof. When Juan returned to the hill, he saw the apparition again and she instructed him to gather the flowers at the top of the hill. When Juan reached the top, he was greeted by an abundance of Castilian roses, flowers that are not native to Mexico. He gathered these roses in his tilma and returned to the archbishop. When he opened his tilma to show the proof, the flowers cascaded to the ground and revealed the image of the apparition on the front of his tilma. Our Lady of Guadalupe is now highly revered among Catholics, especially those of Mexican heritage.

I teach fourth and fifth grade Religious Education and we were discussing Mary last week. One of my students is very intelligent and loves to teach me all about the Mexican culture. As we were talking, we decided to have our own “Our Lady of Guadalupe Celebration” on December 9 and I thought I’d share our plans in case you are interested in hosting your own:

First, we decided that there are a few things we absolutely must have:

  1. A picture, icon, or statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe (almost all Mexican homes have one of these in each room!)
  2. A special song about Our Lady of Guadalupe (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YmL146DCqY&feature=related)

Next, there are some things that I thought I could bring that would add to the celebration:

  1. Listening to the story of St. Juan Diego- Glory Stories Vol. 1 (http://www.holyheroes.com/Glory-Stories-CD-vol-1-p/gscd1.htm#.UJaq52_A8-0)
  2. Coloring an Our Lady of Guadalupe coloring page (http://faith.thatresourcesite.com/modules/PDdownloads/singlefile.php?cid=4&lid=7)
  3. We may make tilmas to wear using the colored images (http://www.domestic-church.com/CONTENT.DCC/20070000/FRIDGE/paper_bag_tilma.htm)
  4. Lastly, we are always on the lookout for fun snacks so I am thinking of making some roses from fruit roll-ups and one child is bringing tamales!

Let us know if you are hosting your own celebration! Also, if you have any more ideas, please comment below and share!

Copyright 2012 Alicia Hart