Fiesta de las Cruces

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Santa Cruz de la Calle La Fuente as Cruz de Mayo

The Fiesta de las Cruces , or Invención de la Santa Cruz or Cruz de Mayo ( Festival of the Crosses or simply May Cross ) is a folk festival celebrated on May 3rd in many parts of Spain and Latin America . On this day the Holy Cross was "discovered" according to the Roman rite of the Catholic Church. Invención (from Latin invenio = "to discover") is the liturgical as well as the official name, but in colloquial terms Fiesta de las Cruces and Cruz de Mayo have prevailed. After the reform of the Roman liturgy by Pope John XXIII. with the Motu proprio Rubricarium instructum it lost its importance in the Roman calendar.

background

St. Helena, "discoverer" of
the Holy Cross

The festival is associated with the excavations organized by the Byzantine ruler St. Helena for the cross of Christ and the location of the Holy Sepulcher . Folk traditions connect it with the likely emergence of paganism in Spain by the Roman Empire (see also Customs in May ).

Legend has it that in the sixth year of his reign , Emperor Constantine the Great was confronted with the barbarians on the Danube , a battle whose victory seemed hopeless because of the size of the enemy. One night Constantine had a vision of a cross in heaven, accompanied by the words "In hoc signo vincis" ( Under this sign you will be victorious ). Thereupon Constantine had a cross made that was to be carried in front of the men of his army, which earned him an easy victory over the surplus opponent. After his return home and the lesson on the meaning of the cross, Constantine was baptized and commissioned the building of churches . In the year 326 he sent his mother, St. Helena, to Jerusalem to look for the Holy Cross. There she called the "wisest" priests to help her find. On Golgotha , the hill of the crucifixion of Christ , she found three previously hidden logs. To find out which of these tribes were used for the Holy Cross, she let sick and dead people touch them, whereupon they healed or were resuscitated. This was the beginning of the veneration of the Holy Cross and its use as a relic . The day St. Helena died is celebrated as the day of remembrance of the Holy Cross among all Christian believers.

Some authors also connect Cruz de Mayo with the pre-Christian origin of the Árbol de Mayo ( maypole ) or Palo de Mayo . The cult around the maypole is widespread in European religions mainly among the Celts, Germans, Greeks, Romans and Slavs. In medieval France, on May 1st, farmers set up decorated trees in front of mansions and churches. The gypsies held a similar festival on St. George's Day , April 23, that they called Green George .

Customs and Traditions

The first popular festivals in Cruz de Mayo date back to the 17th century. The customs of the celebration of the Fiesta de las Cruces were sometimes banned by clerics and nobles and ceased in England during the 17th century due to the Protestant Reformation. The tree ornamentation became common in Spain, especially in Castile . The festival is usually celebrated between April 30th and May 3rd.

The festival is celebrated today in many parts of Spain and Hispanic America. Different traditions, customs and peculiarities have developed regionally.

Spain

Various groups that usually accompany Hermandades are connected, Spanish associations for charitable or religious objectives, organize the processions of Holy Week and decorate a large cross with flowers. To do this, they choose a suitable place or a street and also decorate the area around the cross with typical traditional objects, such as guitars , embroidered cloths, antique earthenware and even old sewing machines . For example, for the jewelry of the cross of the Hermandad de Nuestra Señora del Carmen , Queen of the Sea, fishing nets and fishing equipment are used. Most of the objects used are mementos of the history or traditions of the city, presented artistically.

Individual examples

Cruz de Mayo in Cordoba

The festival is very famous in the city of Granada , but also in other cities in Andalusia such as Córdoba and Armilla . Here prizes are awarded for the best designed May crosses in several categories, such as courtyards, streets and squares, windows and schools. The crosses are adorned with red and white carnations and often surrounded with elaborate handicrafts.

The festival takes place in Estepona on the first weekend in May . About ten different crosses are set up there on various decorated squares in the city. The city administration is offering a prize for the best decorated square with the cross. The idea is to wander around the city, look at the squares and the cross, and announce how the jury voted. During the festival music is played, danced (including flamenco ) and barbecues are organized.

From the Sacro Iglesia de San Juan museum in Aranda de Duero , a procession with a crowd dancing behind leads to the Plaza Mayor.

In different places in Cabeza la Vaca , a municipality in the province of Badajoz , crosses are decorated with different motifs. On the night of May 2nd they are carried through the town behind a music parade. On May 3rd, the procession leads through the streets to the one cross that is supposed to represent the Holy Cross.

In Écija , the festival is organized by the Hermandad del Resucitado. Children in traditional clothing carry the cross during the procession that goes through the streets every Sunday, either May 3rd or the Sunday after.

In Feria , crosses and altars are lavishly decorated with flowers. In 2008 there were over 70 crosses. This festival falls under the category of Fiestas de Interés Turístico Nacional .

The origin of the festival in Sama de Grado is unknown, but it is older than 500 years. A special feature is that instead of a procession on the cross, there is a procession focused on the Mother of Sorrows , clad in sky blue, to celebrate Christ's victory over death. The figure of Our Lady of Sorrows is represented in three aspects: as the mother of Jesus , as Mater Dolorosa, who accompanies Jesus on Golgata, and because May is her month.

In both Santa Cruz de La Palma and Santa Cruz de Tenerife on the Canary Islands , the festival falls on May 3rd, the day the city was founded.

Chile

The festival is celebrated with singing in Chile , and money is raised for the needy.

Ecuador

In the Ecuadorian mountain region Sierra, the festival is usually less peaceful with fireworks, canelazo and masquerades.

El Salvador

colorfully decorated cross
with fruits as offerings
(El Salvador)

The Día de la Cruz is celebrated in El Salvador on May 3rd, but is not an official legal or religious holiday. The beginning of the “wet time” or rainy season in winter is celebrated. This tradition goes back to pre-Hispanic times when the indigenous people thanked the gods and mother earth for the food available. When Catholicism moved in during the colonial period, the cross was added to tradition. It is made of wood and decorated with flowers and long chains made of colored tissue paper. Fruits, grains, vegetables, drinks, sweets and sometimes money are placed at the foot of the cross as offerings. Visitors are encouraged to take some of the offerings after kneeling in front of the cross and saying a prayer of thanks.

Guatemala

In Guatemala , the Fiesta de las Cruces is mostly celebrated in a symbolic and respectful way with colorful processions.

In the Chimaltenango department, construction company FFASCA, one of the leading companies in Guatemala, is funding a large, less traditional celebration. It begins on May 2nd at 6 p.m. with a Eucharistic celebration in honor of the Holy Cross. On May 3, at 3 a.m., people gather for a procession through the streets of the communes of the department. Afterwards, various sporting activities are carried out, such as a marathon or mountain bike competitions. Around 3,000 construction workers meet at lunchtime to eat together in the various branches of the FFASCA. After lunch there will be a prize draw. At 4 p.m. there will be an open air concert in the Parque Central de Chimaltenango, also with prize draws. Fireworks competitions will be held from 7 p.m.

Colombia

Since there is a larger Basque population in the Colombian departments of Antioquia , Caldas , Quindío and Risaralda and in the municipality of Funza in the Diocese of Facatativá , the tradition of the Día de la Santa Cruz (“Day of the Holy Cross”) or the Día de los is established there Mil Jesuses ("Day of the Thousand Jesuses") continued on May 3rd. People speak the name of Jesus a thousand times and believe that it will protect them in the year to come.

Mexico

In Mexico , the Fiesta de las Cruces began to be celebrated at the beginning of the 16th century, when Captain Juan de Grijalva named the island now known as Cozumel , Isla de la Santa Cruz . The holiday is mainly celebrated by the guilds and unions involved in the construction. In a high position on a building under construction, a cross decorated with flowers and paper is fixed. The workers celebrate the festival with local cuisine and alcoholic beverages such as tequila , mezcal and local beers. It is common for home builders and contractors to sponsor the celebration.

Peru

The festival is also celebrated in Peru under different regional names , such as Señor de Chaucayán in the Province of Bolognesi , Santisima Cruz del Señor de Mayo in Recuay or Cruz de Allaucán in the Province of Corongo . Cruz Velacuy is a tradition celebrated in the province of Cusco as the Serenade of the Crosses. It consists of tying flowers to crosses and decorating altars with paper figures and decorated candles. It is cornbeer danced and the same brew cornbeer drunk up into the next day when the crosses are carried in a procession to the temples. In the Huánuco region , the Señor de Mayo festival is celebrated from May 1st to 6th, where traditional pachachi invite you to linger, enjoy music and bullfighting . The custom of furnishing chapels with palos mayores is widespread .

Venezuela

In many regions of Venezuela , a wooden cross is decorated with flowers and colored paper every May.

In the coastal town of Choroní , the celebration of the festival is of great importance. The entire population follows the tradition of dancing to the drums on the Caribbean beach until dawn in honor of Cruz de Mayo .

Named after the Pacairigua River , Santa Cruz de Pacairigua has been the patron saint of Guatire since it was founded in the 17th century. The cross sculpture is located in the parish church and is celebrated on May 3rd.

Literature and web links

  • Celeste Jiménez de Madariaga, Aniceto Delgado Méndez: Cultura y tradición crucera en el Condado de Huelva. Expresiones compartidas en torno al mes de mayo . In: Revista PH . Vol. 23, No. 88 . Seville 2015, p. 82-93 ( online ).
  • Cruces de mayo en el Atlas del Patrimonio Inmaterial. Instituto Andaluz del Patrimonio Histórico, August 31, 2012, accessed on May 2, 2018 .
  • Missale Romanum Ex Decreto Sacrosancti Concilii Tridentini . Pustet, Regensburg 1862, p. 437-439 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Eloy B. Ruano (Ed.): Tópicos y realidades de la Edad Media . tape 3 . Madrid 2004, ISBN 84-95983-51-6 .
  2. ↑ a b c Alonso de Villegas: Flos Sanctorum, Historia General De La Vida, Y Hechos De Jesu-Christo, Dios, Y Señor Nuestro, Y De Todos Los Santos, De Que Reza, Y Haze Fiesta La Iglesia Catolica . del Hierro, Madrid 1721, p. 663 f .
  3. ↑ a b c d George McClelland Foster: La cultura tradicional en España y América . Signatura, Sevilla 2002, ISBN 84-95122-87-1 .
  4. ^ A b Alberto del Campo Tejedor, Ana Campos García: El Mayo Festero. Ritual Y Religión En El Trifuno De La Primavera . Seville 2005, ISBN 84-96152-93-6 .
  5. ↑ Festival of the May Crosses. Denis Werner, accessed on May 3, 2018 .
  6. ↑ Cruz de Mayo. Consorcio Ruta del Vino Ribera del Duero, accessed on May 3, 2018 .
  7. ↑ Pedro Aguilar: Cabeza la Vaca se prepara para celebrar "Las Cruces de Mayo". TentudiaDirecto.com, April 25, 2017, accessed May 3, 2018 .
  8. ^ Écija Cruz de Mayo. Hermandad del Resucitado de Écija, accessed April 27, 2018 .
  9. ↑ Fiestas de la Santa Cruz. Retrieved April 27, 2018 .
  10. ↑ Sama de Grado festivals la romería de la Cruz de Mayo hasta el domingo. La Nueva España, May 3, 2013, accessed May 3, 2018 .
  11. ↑ Traditional celebrations in cities with "Cruz". Canaries Express, April 30, 2016, accessed May 3, 2018 .
  12. ↑ Luis Cifuentes Villegas: Anoche la Cruz de Mayo inició sus recorridos . In: La Estrella . Hualpén, May 2, 2012, p. 3 ( online ).
  13. ↑ Marielos Ramírez: Día de la Cruz, tradición y agradecimiento al Creador. El Salvador magazine, May 3, 2012, accessed May 3, 2018 .
  14. ↑ Carolina Cabrera: La historia del Día de la Cruz en Guatemala y su relación con los albañiles. Guatemala.com, May 3, 2016, accessed May 3, 2018 .
  15. ↑ Día de la Santa Cruz. El Diario del Otún, May 3, 2014, accessed May 3, 2018 .
  16. ↑ Folklore . In: Gran Enciclopedia del Perú . Lexus, Lima 1998, ISBN 9972-625-13-3 .
  17. ↑ a b c La Cruz de Mayo. venezuelatuya.com, accessed May 2, 2018 .