Corpus Christi (by Hailie)

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On Sunday, June 26th, I got to be a part of a major cultural event here in Costa Rica. Corpus Christi is a Catholic holiday that is celebrated by many Costa Ricans and the name refers to "the body of Christ." The event commemorates the last supper on the day before Jesus' crucifixion. At 5:30 am, I joined Abby and her host family to help "paint the streets" for the Corpus Christi parade in Santa Elena, Costa Rica. We worked until 9:00 am decorating sections of the street with flowers, grass, mulch and twigs. I really didn't know what to expect, but the results were beautiful! We worked with other families and members of the church to create pictures of angels, peace signs, crosses and other holy images on the street. It felt great to be a part of something that meant so much to the community and was a great way to meet a lot of new people. After we finished, I was really dirty so I went home and showered and came back in time to watch the Holy March. The people gather in the church behind the priest and then follow him around the block as he leads them in song. The people walk alongside the rows of decorations that line the street until they make their way back to the church an have their special Sunday worship service. After watching the march, I decided to have lunch in a small cafe directly across the street from the church. I could hear the singing coming from inside as I sipped on my delicious carrot and cucumber juice. As soon as the service ended, I watched helplessly as our beautiful artwork got swept up into giant trash bags. The festival may not have lasted long, but the memory will stay with me forever. It was one of my favorite days living in Costa Rica.

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Photos

Getting it Straight
Abby helping line up the part of the street to be decorated

Ready to Start
Everything was lined up and ready to start decorating

Girls
Some local girls working on a heart decoration.

Finishing Touches
Some finishing touches were added to the heart decoration

One of Many
This was just one of many decorations lining the street

Hard At Work
Hailie was hard at work spreading light mulch

Peace, Hailie
Hailie with the peace sign decoration that she worked on

Peace, Abby
Abby with the peace sign street decoration.

More of the Street
Here are some more artwork that lined the street

Abby and Family
Abby is helping her host mother and host sister.

Santa Elena
This is the town of Santa Elena -- the only real town in the Monteverde region.

Holy March
The people marched up the street and to the church

End of the March
The people followed the priest back to the church

Comments

[Robin Snider]

Good stuff!
Great story and pictures!!!! The artwork turned out lovely.