Novena

Part of being a community leader, member of the Catholic Church and managing relationships with other leaders is offering a nine-day event for children called the novena. According to Wikipedia “The novena was created by Fray Fernando Larrea Jesus, born in Quito, Ecuador in 1700, who after his ordination in 1725 was a preacher in Ecuador and Colombia. Many years later, a religious teacher, Mother Maria Ignacia, modified it and added the joys.”

In our house this takes the form of about 40 kids ages 1 to 10 coming at about 6:00 PM, packing the living room. Many of them have small plastic percussion instruments like plastic tambourines and rattles. While they are waiting there is kid’s holiday CD playing Spanish carols.

A niece of Manuel and Rosa lead the Novena most nights equipped with a magazine-style guidebook with the prayers, recitations and songs.  The guidebook is also available online at: www.colombia.com/navidad/novena/  Each night there are prayers for every day, the Sanctified Virgin, Saint Joseph, and the big one in the center to the Baby Jesus.

The era in which the text was composed seems out of step with the kids lives now. They squirm, talk with each other, climb on the furniture and play with toys while an adult or some of the older kids soldiers on reading the prayers. The readers are often inaudible above the hubbub. Most of the readers are young girls with varying abilities to read. They jostle in line to be the next reader. A couple of older boys, about 10 to 12 years old, attended and one read many of the prayers.

A half-dozen mothers sit on the periphery trying to manage the commotion. I’m the only adult male in these sessions. The other men steer clear, sitting outside talking and occasionally peaking in. It suggests a pretty clear division of labor with respect to religious education of children, though I’m not familiar with how the Novena goes in other households.

This prayer to Baby Jesus is much longer and every paragraph alternates with the kids singing and clapping - roughly “Ven, ven, ven.. ven a nuestra alma (3x) No tardes tanto. Jesus ven, ven”  Translated to Come, Come, Come, Come to our souls. (3x) Jesus, Don’t delay. Come, Come.”  The prayer to Baby Jesus has about 12 versus each night, alternating with twelve repetitions of the song. By the ninth night and 108th signing of ven, ven, ven, many of the kids are done with singing while others are banging away at their plastic rattles and tambourines.

There are a few other readings. The recorded carols are played and some of the kids sing along. A few of the carols are common to North American tradition, with Spanish lyrics. Other carols have Italian routes or are new to me.  The CD that is being used in this household has a lot of bird tweeting mixed in with the singing. It is geared to young children.

The evening ends with each child receiving a small gift on their way out. The gifts the first few nights were a piece of candy or a cookie. About half way through I offered to buy notebooks (given out on the 6th night) and little boxes of colored pencils (7th night). On the eight night the got popcorn and on the final night they got toys, candles (more on this) and a bit of Chinese fried rice. Some of the kids probably want the gifts and are willing to put up with the rituals in order to get them. For many of the kids this is a chance to get together. Some of them dressed up, others probably didn’t have much in the way of dress clothes.

The candle on the ninth night was my idea. I offered to get the candles, cut out the paper circles and lead the North American singing of Silent night while the room was lighted by candles held by 30 or so of the older kids. I sang in English then asked them to sing in Spanish (Noche de Paz). Apparently nobody knows the words, but one mother had them in the novena book and carried song forward. It worked out pretty well. For a couple minutes the chaos subsided a little. Our US notion of a quiet Christmas is not shared here. But for a couple minutes we were quiet, contemplative and some of the mothers were intrigued.  The head of the household, Manuel, came in for this part and said a little prayer.  

Then the food and gifts came out and the Novena ended. What followed on Christmas Eve is in another chapter, filled with turkey, whisky, loud music, crowds and firecrackers.

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