La Novena, A Cherished Holiday Tradition For Colombians In Queens

The spacious community room was crowded with young couples, grandmas and grandpas, a priest and lots of children. The walls were decorated with the motifs of the season, wreaths, lights, a snowman and a sea of Christmas cards.
The crowd gathered around a huge home-made Nativity scene featuring the town of Bethlehem, with lovely porcelain houses, tiny animals, children at play, Joseph and Mary walking up a slope, the three Magi coming from different directions and on top of the slope an empty manger awaiting the arrival of the couple and the birth of Jesus.
At 7 p.m. Father Jose Lopez, a missionary priest from Pereira, Colombia, celebrated mass. And then La Novena took place. This cherished centuries-old tradition brought by Colombians from their homeland has become a focal part of the holiday celebration at the Colombian Civic Center (CCC) in Elmhurst for the past two decades.
Children had a prominent role in the ceremony, which began with Spanish songs praising Jesus, promising to emulate Him and looking forward to his arrival. One of the children reads a religious story with teachings about love, peace, friendship and good deeds. And then everybody prays. The evening ends with some cheerful songs, a raffle and refreshments for the children.
This event is repeated for nine consecutive evenings prior to Christmas Eve. Every evening, between 150 attend. The program on the ninth evening is more elaborate and the children receive a special gift. Members of the board of directors volunteer to coordinate La Novena. Sponsors such as Western Union provide the goodies.
"I believe this is a Colombian tradition that attracts people because we do it as it is done in Colombia," says board member Juanita Bagarroza, "It has Colombian warmth and family flavor."
Another long-time member of the Center, Nayibe Nunez-Berger, who worked for many hours to plan this years Nativity scene, said "this event promotes unity and that is what we need in New York, especially this year."
The director of special events, Francisco Gonzalez, commented from a slightly different angle. "This is an opportunity for Colombians to come with their children to the Center and become acquainted with all the services we provide. We offer English as a second language, computer, karate and folk dance classes. We have Spanish language classes for the children, a program for seniors, health programs for the youth, immigration legal counseling and a citizenship program. Also, we are creating a Spanish language library and we are accepting book donations."
The Nativity scene erected at the Manuel de Dios Square on Roosevelt Avenue at 83rd Street is also sponsored by the Colombian Civic Center. It was designed and constructed by Luis Mendoza, a long time member of CCC.
The Center is located at 90-37 Corona Avenue, Elmhurst, NY 11373. For more information, call 718-699-4833.