QUIÉN CAUSA TANTA ALEGRÍA?!?
(Who causes so much happiness?)
LA CONCEPCIÓN DE MARÍA!!!
(Mary's Conception!)
Alex and I stood in the long bus line wrapped around the small "UCA" bus station, at 3pm on Friday afternoon. December 7 is a day Catholics in Nicaragua celebrate La Purísima, or the celebration of the pure conception of Mary. In order to get the full experience of Purísima, a small group of my friends and myself traveled to the city of Leon, which is the city most famous for it's annual Purísima celebration. Alex and I thought we were going to have spend at least an hour waiting for a bus, due to the influx of people traveling to Leon, but suddenly a new bus arrived in a separate area and within only about 10 minutes of waiting we snugly fit in a micro bus on our way to Leon.
Once we arrived to Leon we dropped our stuff off quickly at our hostel to join the beginning firework display for the evening. We hustled over to the main cathedral just in time for the firework display. However, I quickly realized the fireworks shooting off safety in the background weren't the only fireworks. People standing somewhat near me all of a sudden began shrieking out of fear, yet laughing at the same time and running away from a firework which shot out into the crowd. In almost the same moment, I looked to see Alex running with several other young guys towards a man dancing around with a large card board box covering the top half of his body. On the sides of this box, were lit bottle rockets. The people who were brave enough to face the "bull" would try and gamble how close they could stand near the "bull" until suddenly, the fireworks would light and everyone ran in sheer fear and excitement. I will admit I was pretty shocked to witness such a way to celebrate but it was so much fun.
After the craziness with the fireworks, we began walking around the city to view the different purisima displays. Many people had elaborate window displays of Maria, candles, flowers, fancy cloths, etc. A tradition we did not take part in is people invite friends/family over to the purisima and spend time together in prayer and simply celebrating the holiday. Around the main part of town, there was a long line of people standing with empty bags. The waited in line to view a long row of different Mary's on display and at the same time collected free food; everything from rice to candies.
Later in the evening, we participated in Griteria. Griteria is very similar to Halloween minus the scary stuff and minus the costumes. However, you walk to different houses and you can yell out "Quien causa tanta alegria?" and the people at the house should answer "La concepcion de Maria". Then, they hand you some sort of goodie. At one house I received a box of matches and another some hair ties. There are also certain songs you can sing as you greet each house, but no one in my group knew the correct songs.
I'm glad I experienced such a unique celebration. Many Nicaraguans who are not Catholic often struggle with accepting and trying to understand Purisima, calling it a pagan celebration and refusing to acknowledge or support it. When Evangelical Nicaraguans ask me about my time in Leon for purisima, I simply explain my desire to always learn more about different traditions and culture.
Once we arrived to Leon we dropped our stuff off quickly at our hostel to join the beginning firework display for the evening. We hustled over to the main cathedral just in time for the firework display. However, I quickly realized the fireworks shooting off safety in the background weren't the only fireworks. People standing somewhat near me all of a sudden began shrieking out of fear, yet laughing at the same time and running away from a firework which shot out into the crowd. In almost the same moment, I looked to see Alex running with several other young guys towards a man dancing around with a large card board box covering the top half of his body. On the sides of this box, were lit bottle rockets. The people who were brave enough to face the "bull" would try and gamble how close they could stand near the "bull" until suddenly, the fireworks would light and everyone ran in sheer fear and excitement. I will admit I was pretty shocked to witness such a way to celebrate but it was so much fun.
After the craziness with the fireworks, we began walking around the city to view the different purisima displays. Many people had elaborate window displays of Maria, candles, flowers, fancy cloths, etc. A tradition we did not take part in is people invite friends/family over to the purisima and spend time together in prayer and simply celebrating the holiday. Around the main part of town, there was a long line of people standing with empty bags. The waited in line to view a long row of different Mary's on display and at the same time collected free food; everything from rice to candies.
Later in the evening, we participated in Griteria. Griteria is very similar to Halloween minus the scary stuff and minus the costumes. However, you walk to different houses and you can yell out "Quien causa tanta alegria?" and the people at the house should answer "La concepcion de Maria". Then, they hand you some sort of goodie. At one house I received a box of matches and another some hair ties. There are also certain songs you can sing as you greet each house, but no one in my group knew the correct songs.
I'm glad I experienced such a unique celebration. Many Nicaraguans who are not Catholic often struggle with accepting and trying to understand Purisima, calling it a pagan celebration and refusing to acknowledge or support it. When Evangelical Nicaraguans ask me about my time in Leon for purisima, I simply explain my desire to always learn more about different traditions and culture.
No comments:
Post a Comment