Sallie Bingham

  • Events
  • Blog
    • Doris Duke
    • Best of 2024
    • My Favorites
    • Full Archives
    • Writing
    • Women
    • Philanthropy
    • My Family
    • Politics
    • Kentucky
    • New Mexico
    • Travel
    • Art
    • Theater
    • Religion
  • Books & Plays
    • Doris Duke
    • Fiction
    • Nonfiction
    • Plays
    • Poetry
    • Anthologies
  • Writing
    • Short Stories
    • Poems
    • Plays
    • Translations
  • Resources
    • Audio
    • Video
    • Print
    • Biography
  • About
    • Contact
 
You are here: Home / New Mexico / Las Posadas

Las Posadas

December 12th, 2017 by Sallie Bingham in New Mexico, Religion 2 Comments

Las Posadas Procession in Santa Fe. Photo: Santa Fe New Mexican

Las Posadas Procession in Santa Fe. Photo: Santa Fe New Mexican

The inns… In this case, the inns that turned Mary and Joseph away when they were looking for a place for her to give birth to Jesus, thus the stable…

It happens every December 10th in Santa Fe and has for a long time: the re-enactment of this Biblical exile, central to the Christmas story as Christians know it.

The crowd that gathered in the Plaza Sunday night probably was only dimly aware, if at all, of the original story. Most were tourists drawn by newspaper announcements of something to do in the middle of town at the beginning of a chilly night. Often in past years there has been snow falling but we have no snow to show and probably will have little if any.

Perhaps that added to the slightly off atmosphere, that curious combination of curiosity and confusion tourists bring. And the cold wind, which put out our little candles in their paper collars almost as soon as we lit them. And the fact that now we don’t have a donkey for Mary to ride in on—probably some health department nonsense.

There was a magic in the pretty Mary and her shiny blue gown next to the tall Joseph with his staff.

And then, this is the first year in decades when there were no devils to drive the holy couple from the inn doors. In the past devils in flaming red costumes pranced on the rooftops of the old buildings around the Plaza, shouting the equivalent in Spanish of “No room at the inn!” This allowed the crowd to roar their disapproval. Some authority decided that since the Bible certainly doesn’t mention devils, it seemed more appropriate to replace them with innkeepers—men in a motley assortment of robes. They shouted mightily when Mary and Joseph appeared but somehow booing men in robes didn’t arouse the crowd’s enthusiasm. They were just innkeepers after all who had no rooms to rent.

Still, there was a magic in the pretty Mary and her shiny blue gown next to the tall Joseph with his staff. And since we are now as a country in the midst of shouting “No room at the inn!” to thousands of immigrants, any one of whom could be a Mary or a Joseph, the evening had a certain weight. How long will we continue to abuse the sacred idea of hospitality?

Share
Tweet
Share
Buffer3
3 Shares

In New Mexico, Religion Santa Fe

A long and fruitful career as a writer began in 1960 with the publication of Sallie Bingham's novel, After Such Knowledge. This was followed by 15 collections of short stories in addition to novels, memoirs and plays, as well as the 2020 biography The Silver Swan: In Search of Doris Duke.

Her latest book, Taken by the Shawnee, is a work of historical fiction published by Turtle Point Press in June of 2024. Her previous memoir, Little Brother, was published by Sarabande Books in 2022. Her short story, "What I Learned From Fat Annie" won the Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize in 2023 and the story "How Daddy Lost His Ear," from her forthcoming short story collection How Daddy Lost His Ear and Other Stories (September 23, 2025), received second prize in the 2023 Sean O’Faolain Short Story Competition.

She is an active and involved feminist, working for women’s empowerment, who founded the Kentucky Foundation for Women, which gives grants to Kentucky artists and writers who are feminists, The Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture at Duke University, and the Women’s Project and Productions in New York City. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Sallie's complete biography is available here.

Comments

  1. Ranny Levy on Facebook says

    December 12th, 2017 at 8:21 am

    Thoughtful. The homogenization of tradition until all substance is gone. Very sad. Bring back the spark!

    Reply
  2. Joe McGee Art on Facebook says

    December 12th, 2017 at 9:08 am

    Our beautiful lady Mary. So many of us left the church years ago (Catholic in my case) as Conservative doctrine emerged in the 60s. Now, I do not recognize what some of my own family believe, rigid, exclusivity. Their only cause, abortion. Thus, they will not challenge Trump, he is giving them their dream prize. And Mary (Mother Earth), who I, and many other former Christians consider equal as a deity, has been tramped down since the Middle Ages, to put her in her proper place. It is time for us all to go back to our churches (after all, I am Catholic for life, have all the creds) and restore Leftist/Centrist theology. In our churches! After all, Catholic means “universal”!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 

You might also like

  • Painting of Saint Stephen by Carlo Crivelli
    The Feast of Saint Stephen
    As the old song says, "Ye who now do bless the poor/Shall yourselves find blessing."...
  • We Have Done It Before
    We Have Done It Before
    We rounded up men who had committed no crimes, on suspicion only. We are doing it again....
  • Photo of a Santa Fe Church with a clear sky
    Living in the City of Holy Faith
    Often when I'm asked, with less and less surprise, why I moved to Santa Fe in 1991, I repeat the familiar explanations......
  • Santa Fe Adobe home
    How Towns Are Divided
    Fear knows nothing about physical distance. It's always fear of the unknown, the unfamiliar....
 

Subscribe

 

Latest Comments

  • Martha White on The Fruits of the Past Five Years: “Eudora Welty’s One Writer’s Beginnings: “And suddenly a light is thrown back, as when your train makes a curve, showing…” July 6th, 11:14 am
  • Nenita on The Fruits of the Past Five Years: “I like your writings, I can relate to you. If I had been persevering and seriously aware of my interests…” July 6th, 11:13 am
  • Sallie Bingham on Whose Eyes: “Thank you, James – you are correct!” June 29th, 11:19 am
  • Martha White on Feeding the Fish: “Blinkying Report:: Our neighborhood rabbits have been observed leaping into the air three or four feet off the ground. It…” June 29th, 8:10 am
  • Martha White on Whose Eyes: “Subtle. The “b” stays silent—subtle, even.” June 24th, 12:59 pm

Watch Sallie

Taken By The Shawnee

Taken By The Shawnee

July 6th, 2025
Sallie Bingham introduces and reads from her latest work, Taken by the Shawnee.
Visiting Linda Stein

Visiting Linda Stein

March 3rd, 2025
Back on October 28th, 2008, I visited artist Linda Stein's studio in New York City and tried on a few of her handmade suits of armor.

Listen To Sallie

Rebecca Reynolds & Salie Bingham at SOMOS

Rebecca Reynolds & Salie Bingham at SOMOS

November 8th, 2024
This event was recorded November 1, 2024 in Taos, NM at SOMOS Salon & Bookshop by KCEI Radio, Red River/Taos and broadcast on November 8, 2024.
Taken by the Shawnee Reading

Taken by the Shawnee Reading

September 1st, 2024
This reading took place at The Church of the Holy Faith in Santa Fe, New Mexico in August of 2024.

Upcoming Events

Jul 25
July 25th - July 27th

The 9th Annual Taos Writers Conference

SOMOS Salon & Bookshop
Taos MO
Sep 23
All day

How Daddy Lost His Ear – Garcia Street Books

Garcia Street Books
Santa Fe NM
Sep 30
3:00 pm - 4:30 pm MDT

How Daddy Lost His Ear – The Church of the Holy Faith

The Church of the Holy Faith
Santa Fe NM
View all of Sallie's events

Latest Tweets

salliebingham avatar Sallie Bingham @salliebingham ·
10 Jul 1943388047287963824

Recently, I was reflecting with my good friend John on the fruits of the past five years. I’m so very grateful for all my readers who keep me and my books alive! https://buff.ly/NgnRjO3 #DorisDuke #TheSilverSwan #Treason #LittleBrother #TakenByTheShawnee #HowDaddyLostHisEar

Image for the Tweet beginning: Recently, I was reflecting with Twitter feed image.
salliebingham avatar Sallie Bingham @salliebingham ·
9 Jul 1942957873966792785

It's important not to be ploughed under by the chaos and intemperance in #WashingtonDC. We don't live in that swamp, and we don't need to allow our hopes and dreams to be drowned out by the noise. "Reasons to Hope": https://buff.ly/Z8lH33D

Image for the Tweet beginning: It's important not to be Twitter feed image.
Load More

Recent Press

Sallie Bingham's latest is a captivating account of ancestor's ordeal
Pasatiempo, The Santa Fe New Mexican

“I felt she was with me” during the process of writing the book, Bingham says. “I felt I wasn’t writing anything that would have seemed to her false or unreal.”

Copyright © 2025 Sallie Bingham. All Rights Reserved.

Press Materials   —   Contact Sallie

Privacy Policy

Menu
  • Events
  • Blog
    • Doris Duke
    • Best of 2024
    • My Favorites
    • Full Archives
    • Writing
    • Women
    • Philanthropy
    • My Family
    • Politics
    • Kentucky
    • New Mexico
    • Travel
    • Art
    • Theater
    • Religion
  • Books & Plays
    • Doris Duke
    • Fiction
    • Nonfiction
    • Plays
    • Poetry
    • Anthologies
  • Writing
    • Short Stories
    • Poems
    • Plays
    • Translations
  • Resources
    • Audio
    • Video
    • Print
    • Biography
  • About
    • Contact