Research Paper On Novena

The “Novena” Those of you who have been to Colombia during the Christmas season, might wonder why families reunite before Christmas Eve and read and sing from a little booklet. What you probably see or hear about is the “novena”, a great family tradition composed of nine specific prayers, one for each of the nine days prior to Christmas Eve. It all dates back to Clemencia de Jesús Caicedo, a nun who founded a Catholic school called La Enseñanza. Clemencia asked father Fernando de Jesús to write prayers for each of the nine days until Christmas Eve in order to prepare for the birth of baby Jesus, and since 1725 these have been passed off from one generation to another.

In my opinion, the most interesting aspect about the novena is the direct link of this tradition to Colombian roots, as well as the fact that it is commonly prayed by people who do not even practice the Roman Catholic Faith. The tradition is based on different prayers, followed by the “gozos”(sort of poems, commonly sang, at the end of
On the other hand, for others it´s more of a social gathering around the Christmas festivity, which is always a joyful one. In the end, regardless of people going to mass or believing in God, we promote and enjoy the novena because it unites us with extended family, that most of the year we are clueless about. In other words, there is nothing more sad than sitting on a sofa reading the novena prayers by yourself. Some of my greatest memories as a kid involved me going to my grandma's home for her annual novena. You did not have fun because you read a prayer and were embarrassed of how badly you read in comparison to your uncles and older cousins, but it was fun because you would get to see over 20 cousins, and after the prayer, got to play games with them, watch cartoons, feast on the seasonal foods and hear the gossips, which at least from my point of view, are quite