Of course, with traditions comes the celebration of different parties in Costa Rica. In general, during Holy Week, mothers use a sweet filling similar to pumpkin to prepare empanadas and other cakes for the enjoyment of Easter. In fact, many of the current traditions in Costa Rica come mainly from the Catholic religion.
Costa Ricans consider Holy Week as a religious event or festival and they celebrate it as a party. Although the processions are carried out in each city by Catholic churches. Procession in the city of San José is the main attraction since the cast of the National Theater Company participates in it.
This company has several bands and professional musicians. People who do not participate in religious celebrations can spend leisure time in the beach area.
Costa Ricans also have other religious beliefs apart from Holy Week:
The belief to the Virgin of the Angels
Virgin of the Angels, is the patroness of the country, the biggest church of our earth is Our Lady of the Angels that is in Cartago province.
The history of the Virgin of the Angels dates back to the XVII century in the year 1635 when an indigenous woman walked through a forest known today as (Los Angeles forest) a small pebble visible at that time was found on a rock, to see it in detail was a virgin who was present in that natural field. With the passing of the years, they gave her the name of a brunette virgin because of her appearance, then she was known as a virgin of the pardos because of the origin of that woman who found her. Over time they gave him the name of Cartago reigns in honor of the province but closer they decided to put on the image the title of Our Lady of the Angels, found on August 2.
The small image is about 20 centimeters where the dark virgin is reflected, with a small nose and mouth, in his arms is accompanied by the divine child covered by the sacred mantle, in his right hand is the immaculate heart.
Since 1639 the Virgin has been in more than 3 churches but due to the great and stormy earthquakes did not allow her to be in a sacred sanctuary for a long time, it was not until 1912 when the construction of the current national sanctuary began, of anti-seismic structure, which It was named minor basilica in 1935 by Pope Pio XI.
In August specifically on its second day, it is celebrated in the city of Cartago on the day of the Virgin of Los Angeles, which is a traditional Catholic religious festival in Costa Rica.
The virgin’s pass is characterized by being a procession where all the parishioners accompany the venerated virgin for more than 5 kilometers, where they dress her up and parade in floats filled with many, colorful flowers and carpets made with sawdust, or recycled plastic in order to decorate our authentic bold.
The dance of the Promesanos Indians
It is an original tradition of the canton of Santa Cruz, in Guanacaste.
Celebrations to the Black Christ of Esquipulas. It is a popular religious manifestation with pre-Columbian ritual features, dating from the colonial period of Costa Rica, when in 1804 a replica of the image of the Black Christ of Esquipulas was brought to Santa Cruz, coming from Guatemala. It is called Promise Indians or a group of devout peasants who organize to accompany the pilgrimage of the image, which they call “the patron saint”, through the streets of the city on the eve of the festival on January 15.
These perform songs and dances, to the sound of marimba music, in front of the image and the church, both the day before and the day of the celebration.
In ancient times if you visited our beautiful Costa Rica, it was very likely that you found yourself with immense variations of cults, which vary in their rituals and ceremonies. Today and for a few decades more here, Costa Ricans focus on slightly more popular religion, and we call it that because it is the most frequented by many countries around us; It is known as Catholicism.
But nevertheless it is important to mention that it is not the only religion practiced in this country, since we can also find one who believes in Islam that is constantly manifested in the municipality of Goicoechea, likewise the presence of the Jewish community that is very important in the country, especially in the economic field, according to entrepreneurs, partners, buyers, and others. In the same way, Buddhism comes to Costa Rica thanks to the immigration of Chinese, Taiwanese, and Koreans, which is the main reason for the arrival of different beliefs.
