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Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe: Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month


This is the third week of the Hispanic Heritage Month. We are participating in the Multicultural Kid Blogs Hispanic Heritage Month Blog Hop and Giveaway. You can enter the giveaway here by scrolling down as well. We are sharing something we have done to celebrate or learn about Hispanic cultures each week during the month. Today we are sharing the story of Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe. We discovered this story by reading The Beautiful Lady: Our Lady of Guadalupe by Pat Mora. There are however many books that discuss the story and the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. We also have enjoyed thus far Tomie de Paolo's Our Lady of Guadalupe. Here are some other books we found at the library that share some part of the story or how the festivals are celebrated.


The story/legend takes place in 1531. Juan Diego was an Aztec who converted to Christianity when Mexico was taken over by the Spanish. On December 9, 1531, Juan Diego was walking from his village to church. It was a long walk. When he reached the top of Tepeyac Hill, he saw an apparition of a beautiful woman. She identified herself as the Mother of God. She told Juan Diego to go to the Bishop in Mexico City and tell him to build her a church where she was standing so she could help all who needed her (in one version of the picture books it is also said she wanted to be closer to her Indian children). Juan Diego went to church services and then went to the Bishop's house. 
Christ the King Church, Tres Valles, Veracruz, Mexico01
Source: By Enrique López-Tamayo Biosca
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/eltb/3243649806)
 [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
After a long wait, he finally gained time with the Bishop. Juan Diego told the Bishop of the beautiful lady and all she said and asked. The Bishop told him he was very busy at the time and to come back in a few days and talk to him again. Juan left the Bishop's house feeling like he failed the Mother of God. She was waiting for him on his return to hear what the Bishop said. She insisted he must go back to the Bishop's house the next morning and ask again. He did this. This time the Bishop told Juan Diego that he needed proof that it was the Virgin Mary really asking for this church. He told Juan to ask the lady for a sign. Once again Juan left and found the Virgin Mary on the top of Tepeyac. He told her the Bishop needed a sign. She promised to provide one the next day. Juan Diego went home to find out his beloved uncle, Juan Bernardino, who was like a father to him, had fallen sick and was near death. 
Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine, Irapuato, Guanajuato State, Mexico 08
Source: By Enrique López-Tamayo Biosca
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/eltb/8088780211)
 [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Juan Diego sat with him and attended to his sick uncle forgetting about his plans to meet the Virgin Mary the next morning. In the early morning hours on the day following the day he was to meet Virgin Mary, Juan Diego went out to get a priest for his uncle's last rites. He tried to avoid being seen by the Virgin Mary by going around the bottom of Tepeyac Hill. She however met him at the bottom. She was carried by an angel with colorful wings. He told her why he had not met her and she told him she would of course take care of his uncle and that he was already healed.  Then she told Juan Diego to go to the top of Tepeyac Hill and pick the roses that were growing. She told him to gather them in his tilma and bring them as proof to the Bishop. Juan climbed to the top of the hill thinking there was no way there could be roses in the winter, but when he got to the top he saw beautiful roses growing everywhere. He picked the best ones and put them in his tilma. He brought them to the bottom of the hill where Mary arranged them for him and sent him to the Bishop's house. She told him to show them to the Bishop before showing them to anyone else. When he finally gained entrance to see the Bishop, he opened his tilma to have the roses fall. He noticed that all the eyes in the room were not on the beautiful roses but on his tilma. There on his tilma was a picture of the Virgin Mary exactly how Juan Diego saw her.  Needless to say, now the Bishop believed him and went to see where she wanted this church. 
Statue of St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin.
Church of San Juan Bautista, Coyoacán, México DF.
Photo taken by Hajor, 15 December 2003
Upon returning home, Juan Diego found that Juan Bernardino was cured and he too saw the Virgin Mary. She had asked him to tell the Bishop of his sighting of her and cure and to tell him she wanted to be known under the name of Guadalupe. (Sources: Books pictured above and Wikipedia)

 Now to go with these wonderful books of the story, I wanted to do a little craft. When I googled Our Lady of Guadalupe crafts I discovered many ideas. Our first craft was a tin cross with Our Lady of Guadalupe on it. We got the idea from Oh, Night Divine: Our Lady of Guadalupe Tinwork Ornaments. We cut a cross out of a large tin baking pan. Then I gave Hazel some permanent markers to color it. I gave her a picture (I googled for images of Our Lady of Guadalupe) and we pulled out some decorative flowers.

Hazel is now deciding whether we are going to hang it in her room or in the kitchen. I loved the idea of doing a tin ornament since tinwork is an art of Mexico. 

Our next craft came from In the Heart of My Home: Advent and Christmas with Tomie de Paolo (sorry blogged move and link is no longer good). I loved this one since it showed the miracle of the image. We used "rose" stickers that Hazel got from Trader Joe's.

 Now Juan Diego was made a saint and his feast day is December 9th. And according to Catholic.org Our Lady of Guadalupe Feast Day is December 12th. One of the ideas I saw was to have a "tea" party for Our Lady of Guadalupe serving Mexican hot chocolate. I loved this idea but since it was hot yesterday, we did not do this. We did however make Juan Diego's somberro cookies. I would love to show you the source of this idea, but it looks like I did not save it. (If it is yours, please let me know so I can add it!!) They are sugar cookies with gum drops and frosting decorations.

The final craft idea came from Arma Dei: Equipping Catholic Families: Happy Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It was to make a peg doll of Juan Diego with the image on him and sequins for the roses.
Now we have some fun crafts to remember the story by.

 Now for the giveaway and the blog hop. Remember this is week 3 of it all.

heritagemonthWelcome to the Third Annual Hispanic Heritage Month Blog Hop, hosted this year by Multicultural Kid Blogs and 22 of our member blogs! Don't miss our amazing giveaway, and share your own posts at our linky! Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15 to October 15 every year, "celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America" (from HispanicHeritageMonth.gov) Be sure to visit all of the participating blogs (listed below) and follow our related Pinterest boards:
MKB HHM Twitter PartyDon't miss our Twitter party "Celebrating Hispanic Heritage with Kids," Tuesday, September 23, from 9 - 10 pm ET! Follow #mkbhhm to participate!
MKB Hispanic Heritage Month Blog Hop: Participating Blogs

Hispanic Heritage Month GIVEAWAY!

This year to celebrate we are giving away fabulous prizes! Be sure to enter the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post for a chance to win! Please note that there are shipping restrictions on some prizes. In the event that the winner lives outside of the shipping area, that portion of the prize will be added to the following prize package.

Grand Prize Package

Smart Play PadSmart Play Pad (SRP $ 24.99): Interactive tablet like electronic toy makes early learning fun and exciting for little ones. More than 30 touch sensitive keys teach language and pronunciation skills to help prepare children for school. Bilingual feature helps kids learn in English & Spanish. Lightweight and truly portable for on-the-go learning. Ships to US and Canada only.
Traditional Mexican toys and games.
A basket of fun from Escuela Falcón in Guanajuato, Gto., Mexico. This prize includes educational games, ceramic Day of the Dead skulls, a hand-painted ceramic box, wooden toys, and a certificate for 5 hours of Skype Spanish lessons with Escuela Falcón.
LanugoA basket from Lanugo that includes Lanugo’s new book, “Lula la Consentida,” a limited edition “Latino de Corazón” infant apparel, and Seventh Generation’s earth conscious baby product essentials. US shipping only.
Spanish games for kids.
A Spanish edition of the award-winning game Bananagrams.
DVD of Spanish music videos from Rockalingua.
DVD of Spanish music videos from Rockalingua.
Bilingual poetry book from Lee and Low.
Spanish poetry book for kids from Lee and Low.
A Movie in my Pillow and Poems to Dream Together - Books of poetry in English and Spanish from Lee and Low.

First Prize Package

Peru prize basket - Kid World CitizenA child's sweater and bag from Peru courtesy of Kid World Citizen. The handmade, wool sweater is typical from the Andes and might fit a child ages 2-4. The little backpack is also handmade with gorgeous details typical of the region.
Spanish games for kids. A Spanish edition of the award-winning game Bananagrams.
Spanish songs for kids.
Chocolalala - CD of songs in English and Spanish from Mister G.
Spanish songs for kids from Mariana Iranzi.Hola Hello - A CD of children's songs in English and Spanish from Mariana Iranzi.
Spanish poems for kids.
Mis primeros poemas - A book of poems and audio CD for Spanish learners from All Bilingual Press.
Spanish color activities from Mundo de Pepita.
Digital download of Spanish Colors Activities Pack with printable minibooks, games and activity pages from Mundo de Pepita.
Lingua ToysSpanish activity book with an audio CD with listening exercises for kids between 3-10 years old (value: 12€) from Lingua Toys.
Bolivian GuiroHand-crafted guiro (traditional instrument), hand-carved from a gourd in Bolivia with a sun and moon pattern. Great instrument as well as a piece of folk art. From DARIAMUSIC. US shipping only.

Second Prize Package

Handwoven scarf from Nicaragua.
Handwoven scarf from Nicaragua courtesy of Spanish Playground.
Spanish ABC book from Libros Arellano.
Spanish book for kids from Libros Arellano.
¡Las letras! and Señorita Bienvenida en el aeropuerto - Two children's books in Spanish from Libros Arellano.
Spanish songs for kids from Mariana Iranzi.
A CD of children's songs in English and Spanish from Mariana Iranzi.
Children's songs in Spanish from Mister G.
ABC Fiesta - CD of songs in English and Spanish from Mister G.
High frequency words books in Spanish.
Digital download of 6 printable Spanish high frequency words books from Custom Literacy.
Guatemala purse - Alarcon RestaurantsHand woven and leather Guatemala coin purse, a fun and vibrant gift. Given by www.AlarconRestaurants.com - from their Gift Gallery in Antigua Real Restaurant, Mukwonago WI.
Bonus Prize: France Shipping Only!
Las piñatas de LalyBeautiful piñata created especially for this contest by Piñatas de Laly.
a Rafflecopter giveaway Link Up Your Posts Now it's your turn to share your posts! The linky will be open through October 15, so come back and share throughout Hispanic Heritage Month!
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