- Feb 5, 2002
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Known among people of Mexican descent in the U.S. as ‘La Candelaria,’ the traditional Feb. 2 feast bids farewell to the Christmas season not with a whimper, but with a bang.
Husband and wife Jose Luis Ortiz and Sylvia Monroy plan to take their made-in-Spain resin, life-size ‘Niño Dios’ to church for a blessing on Feb. 2. (photo: Cristina Treviño)
Sylvia Monroy vividly remembers Christmas Eve 1991.
The housewife had prayed to God that her family, which had been separated, would be together for Christmas. That night, at 11 p.m., a friend brought a gorgeous, life-size figure of a Nativity Baby Jesus to her home in Nogales, Mexico, located just next to the Arizona border.
“My friend told me I had won it in a raffle. But I cannot remember ever taking part in a raffle,” recalled Monroy. “But that night, we got our sign. Our family got together. We carried the Baby Jesus and sang lullabies to him. It was a miracle.”
This Monday, Feb. 2, Monroy and her husband, Jose Luis Ortiz, plan to take their made-in-Spain resin, life-size Niño Dios(“Divine Child”) to their parish for Candlemas Day. Monroy says that the statue inspired her to start Santa Filomena, her small Catholic gift shop, which to this day is still going strong.
Continued below.
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Sylvia Monroy vividly remembers Christmas Eve 1991.
The housewife had prayed to God that her family, which had been separated, would be together for Christmas. That night, at 11 p.m., a friend brought a gorgeous, life-size figure of a Nativity Baby Jesus to her home in Nogales, Mexico, located just next to the Arizona border.
“My friend told me I had won it in a raffle. But I cannot remember ever taking part in a raffle,” recalled Monroy. “But that night, we got our sign. Our family got together. We carried the Baby Jesus and sang lullabies to him. It was a miracle.”
This Monday, Feb. 2, Monroy and her husband, Jose Luis Ortiz, plan to take their made-in-Spain resin, life-size Niño Dios(“Divine Child”) to their parish for Candlemas Day. Monroy says that the statue inspired her to start Santa Filomena, her small Catholic gift shop, which to this day is still going strong.
Continued below.
Candlemas Is Making a Comeback, With a Mexican Twist
Known among people of Mexican descent in the U.S. as ‘La Candelaria,’ the traditional Feb. 2 feast bids farewell to the Christmas season not with a whimper, but with a bang.