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Today, Thursday June the 7th, the Dominican Republic celebrates “Corpus Christi” Day, a feast day based on Catholic traditions and religious beliefs – also shared among many European and Latin countries. On this day many attend church to commemorate Jesus’ last supper as a way of showing love and gratitude; a principal Christian ritual.
For years, the Dominican Republic has celebrated Corpus Christi as a “día feriado” meaning a day off work – but why and what are we celebrating?
The latin words “Corpus Christi” literally means Christ’s Body and the Catholic celebration of “Corpus Christi” is basically a larger than normal “Eucharist” or Holy Communion. Although this ritual is normally held on regular catholic masses every day, it is on Corpus Christi when hundreds of thousands of people attend church for a major Eucharist celebration to honor Jesus, manifesting their devotion, love and gratitude for him dying to save humanity.
Corpus Christi is not always celebrated on the 7th of June, it is a moveable holiday, which is always celebrated on the Thursday that follows the 8th Sunday after the ‘Sunday of Resurrection’, in other words, 60 days after this event.
On a day like today
On a day like today in the Dominican Republic, nothing really happens. However it would actually be a nice day to visit different churches – they are usually decorated with many flowers taken by the devoted attendees on any of the masses celebrated today (usually two masses per church).
Corpus Christi celebrations in other countries
In other countries, the Corpus Christi feasts are in general a little bit more “striking” than what would happen here. For instance, in Panama, many residents worship the Lord with traditional dances and costumes, while in Spain, particularly in the city of Toledo, Corpus Christi is celebrated with a popular procession, similar to those celebrated during the Easter Holidays.
Although Corpus Christi is celebrated in many different ways in the numerous Spanish cities and towns, the most remarkable takes place in the city of Toledo in Spain. Included in the procession is a very valuable and important piece in the treasure – the gorgeous Custodia, a monumental monstrance created by the metalworker Enrique de Arfe. Given its great importance and popularity, in 1980, this procession was declared as a “Fiesta de Interés Turístico Internacional” (International Celebration of Tourist Interest), with massive attendance of not only many Catholics, but also curious tourists.
Source: wikipedia.org
As a day-off work, Corpus Christi, is a great day to enjoy some quality time with the family! So if you are in Casa de Campo for the weekend, we hope you have a wonderful time here!
To see the Dominican National Holidays calendar – click here!