Last week was Semana Santa. I was told a number of times that the Central Valley would empty out as school was not in session and everyone would be heading to the beaches for vacation. I really did not believe this at first.
Wednesday night, I went an observed a Catholic Easter parade and mass afterwards. It was here that I noticed the number in attendance from the Sunday mass to that service was quite less.
Friday evening, Nicole and I were driving to Jonathan's apartment. We have not seen each other in a while and were going to eat some dinner with a couple of friends. We noticed at around six o'clock almost every store and restaurant were closed. It was definitely a quiet and eery Friday evening. The gated sliding garage doors secured every building along the deserted road. However, when we turned down through Central Park we noticed hundreds of people in the park and gathering in front of the Catholic Church. Old men and women sat on the benches under the park lights that outlined the palm trees from overhead. Children ran up and down the street playing. The teenagers sat along the street. This went on for blocks and blocks until we finally parked the fifteen passenger van and walked to see what was going on. It was about fifteen minutes later standing near Heredia's Olympic pool that we saw the parade finally coming through. Children were dressed as angels, drums played in the background as they marched through and a hundred or so men marched uniformly to the beat. The grand finale was twenty men carrying a deathbed with a figure of Jesus on laying down with a thin white sheet covering him. The parade only lasted for a half hour. It was very sobering as much people sat in silence or took pictures of a friend or relative working by. We eventually made our way to HyperMas (a grocery store) to pick up some food and later to Jonathan's apartment for a bilingual random dinner conversation.
Saturday evening Nicole, Dan and I ventured out at 11:50pm into San Rafael.
Apparently, one year when DeLynn and Gloria were coming back from Nicaragua people burned figures of Judas in the street. Some people also went to the extreme of throwing objects at cars that passed by. This is a Costa Rican tradition. We found this quite intriguing and "have to experience" feeling came over us. We waited around the base until the time had come passing time with conversation or playing Tetris online (my new addiction and distraction from everything). As we drove around in the van we dodged a couple of couches that were placed in the street and a log in the middle of the road. At one church, there were people outside dancing and celebrating to music when the clock stroke midnight. However, we did not experience any Judases burning. The following day I saw remnants of ash piles in the streets coming down from the mountain. On the news, they televised a Judas hanging from a tree burning from the night before. I was a bit upset to miss it all and more annoyed that I missed a couple of sleeping hours.
Sunday morning, I headed to church expecting a grand celebration of Jesus' resurrection. However, it seemed as though to be the same set up as usual. Worship set and then the children left for Sunday School class as the adults were left in the Sanctuary to have theirs. Pastor Lopez spoke, I did not catch everything but he was talking about Jesus, needing Him and having a personal relationship with Jesus. He also gave an invitation. I do not know what I was expecting, but it seemed that Christmas seemed more celebrated in the Costa Rican evangelical church than Easter.
I was a bit curious about the whole deal as I noticed the Catholic Church packed for Easter and all of the celebrations the previous week. I may be making an assumption here. I believe it is a reaction from the Catholic Church. Catholicism has had such a major influence in Costa Rica (and most of the Latino countries) that I wonder if the Protestant non-major Easter celebration is a response to that. A lot of Evangelicals are converts from the Catholic Church and therefore are trying to break away from their traditions. It was just a bit disappointing from wanting to celebrate the reason I live my life. The Hero of the Story had won! However, it just did not seem all that exciting.
This easter was just a time to reflect and observe everything both from the Catholic and Protestant prospective. From the Catholic side, it was about tradition and the general feeling was sobering. From the Protestant side, life did not really change except the message that was given. No grand dinner or major celebrations.
It was a Costa Rican Easter.
(If you have any Latin knowledge of Easter celebration, please let me know!)
Comments (1)
Semana Santa seems to be pretty huge for the catholics. Too bad you couldn't join in. I got the feeling that the protestants down there are all trying to convert the catholics. Which I guess is fair for some of the people who are just "born" catholic and don't really practice but then there are some pretty hardcore devout Catholics,like my host mom...who i don't believe needs to be "saved." She's always praying and crossing herself and joining in on the celebrations. Every time we got in the car for a trip she would pray that God would protect us. I don't know...same Jesus...same God...some different practices and a few different beliefs. Whatever. Though, i do realize that a lot of the people don't really live out their faith properly. But, that goes for us too. Maybe it's not the religion that needs to be changed? I admire the celebrations and the pilgrimages that the catholics do down in Costa Rica. It's nice to have some visible parts of your faith. I went with my host mom and sister on a "pilgrimage walk" kinda thing and invited my ex-costa rican baptist boyfriend to come. And he did...but it was very much looked down upon by his baptist missionary friend...which was very weird to me. They were celebrating the little doll in Cartago that everyone went to see. There is some story about a doll appearing at this woodpile that a little child found. The child brought it to his home and then it disappeared. they found it again on the rock beside the wood pile...(maybe a wood pile). So they took it to the priest and he said that it was a sign to make a church around it. So they did and it is still there, with the doll and everything. So, a catholic story kinda thing...Don't know if it is true or not but...who am I to say that it is not? There is more to the story...i kinda forget it. So, at this time of year, tons of people walk to Cartago. Sometimes for days. Kinda neat. Anyways, that's a little bit about what I think and have learned. Sorry, it is a little unorganized. Here is the real legend " The Basilica of Cartago in Costa Rica is the home of "La Virgen de los Angeles" (the virgin of the angels) and has a very interesting legend. This legend tells us that Juana Pereira, a young girl, went into the forest near her house to play by the river, back in August 1635. At the river she found a piece of rock in the shape of the Virgin Mary with a small child, and she thought is was a doll and played with it. She went home with the rock and put it in her room, and the next day, when she went play by the river again, she found a very similar representation, which she took home to put it with the first one, but when she returned, the first one was not there. The little girl told about this to the Priest, and he went with her the following day and took the statue they found there back with him to the city, and locked it in a coffer. The next day they returned to the river to find yet another (or maybe the same?) statue there. When he returned to check the locked coffer he discovered it empty. This was taken as a sign that a church should be built on the site the statue kept returning to." http://www.travel-central-america.net/2007/01/the_basilica_of.html