Families across the world are disconnected, but perhaps none more than those trapped on opposite sides of an international border. Along both borders, AP photographers found families connecting in smaller, more intimate ways, overcoming unusual obstacles for shared celebrations. In addition to virus-related restrictions, people face another barrier: President Donald Trump’s border wall that stretches hundreds of miles and is still under construction. A little girl in Arizona recently stuck her arm through giant steel slats of the border wall, wrangling a baby doll as she looked to the sky. It’s not so simple at the Mexico border.

Even here in South Texas, some of our traditions are influenced by the Mexican culture. This is a look at the tradition of las posadas and how it originated. If you grew up in South Texas or the Catholic church, you may have heard of las posadas or participated in one. A group goes house to house singing Christmas or religious songs and at one point the singing group gets invited in for holiday treats and festivities. Las posadas was a tradition brought to Latin America by the Spanish and adopted in both Mexico and Guatemala.